Katelin is TWO and Drew is here!

365 Days has moved...

2011-01-03T18:22:00.001-06:00

http://hicks365.blogspot.com/

New blog just for the 365 days challenge.

Day 2

2011-01-02T22:52:00.001-06:00

Katelin hamming it up for the camera.

And the tree is down. I go back to work tomorrow and unfortunately I didn't accomplish very much :(. I did finish Katelin's curtains though. They aren't perfect, but they look cute. Maybe I'll get a picture tomorrow.

New Year... New Start!

2011-01-02T00:40:00.001-06:00

Day 1

This is the state of my life... January 1st. Tree is still up. Christmas lights are still up. The garage is still full of boxes. The house is still a mess. Oh, and I'm posting this after midnight so it isn't even still the first! Sigh!
Katelin is 2 years, 8 months. Drew is 9 months and both are still alive and doing well (I guess I can do something right!).

Gah! Need to Update!

2010-05-01T21:00:00.003-05:00

I have lots of pictures to post but I don't know the dates of them so I haven't posted them from my phone. Once I get them on my laptop, I can upload them to the blog.

I have added the links to Drew's newborn pictures and slideshow on the right. Once again, Steve Colwill at Poetic Exposure did a fantastic job! If anyone is in the DFW area, we highly recommend him. He only does newborns (up to 3 weeks), senior portraits, and weddings. Wish we could use him for all the kids pictures!
www.PoeticExposure.com

Day 57, part 2. Saturday 4/3

2010-04-03T21:17:00.001-05:00

My three sweeties! Katelin found daddy's hat... Someone needs to tell her it is 70-something in the house and she doesn't need a hat on!

Day 57 - Saturday, 4/3

2010-04-03T16:03:00.001-05:00

City of Denton's Easter Egg Hunt! Katelin had a blast.. anything outside she loves!

Day 56 - Thursday, 4/1

2010-04-03T16:01:00.002-05:00

Taste of North Texas... Katelin is on the saddle from Texas Roadhouse.

Day 55 - Wednesday, 3/31

2010-04-03T15:57:00.001-05:00

Drew is 1 week old today!

Day 54 - Tuesday, 3/30

2010-04-03T15:56:00.002-05:00

Not a great picture of me, but the kids look cute :)

Day 53 - Monday, 3/29

2010-04-03T15:55:00.000-05:00

Day 52 - Sunday, 3/28

2010-04-03T15:52:00.004-05:00

Two picture for two kids...

Drew

Katelin

Day 51 - Friday - 3/26

2010-03-27T11:05:00.002-05:00

Big sister/little brother!
Katelin loves baby Drew :)

Day 50 - Thursday 3/25

2010-03-27T11:03:00.002-05:00

Fun day at the hospital with Chris & Drew.

Day 49 - Wednesday 3/24

2010-03-27T11:02:00.002-05:00

Drew Patrick arrives!!!
7 lbs 10.4oz
20.25" long
Cute as can be :)

Day 48 - Monday - 3/22

2010-03-27T11:01:00.002-05:00

Being silly at dinner time!

Day 47 - Sunday 3/21

2010-03-27T10:59:00.002-05:00

I love ice cream! And yes, I ate the whole thing!!!

Day 46 - Saturday 3/20

2010-03-27T10:57:00.003-05:00

Snowing! 70 yesterday and snow today.

Day 45 - Friday 3/19

2010-03-27T10:56:00.002-05:00

Saying hi to Roscoe.

Playing Catch-Up

2010-03-27T10:54:00.001-05:00

I've been slacking on posting pictures!!! Several days worth to post today!

Day 44 - Thursday 3/18

2010-03-18T21:02:00.003-05:00

Day 46 - Tuesday, 3/16

2010-03-17T11:52:00.001-05:00

I can put my pants on all by myself... now I just need to learn to take off one pair before putting on a second pair!

Day 45 - Saturday 4/13

2010-03-17T11:51:00.002-05:00

Mom... I'm all ready to bowl... when is it MY turn???

Day 43 - Wednesday 3/10

2010-03-11T06:48:00.003-06:00

Playing with a flashlight.

Day 43 - Sunday - 3/7

2010-03-08T00:15:00.002-06:00

Craps at the Cal Neva.
We should be home by now!

Day 42 - Saturday - 3/6

2010-03-08T00:13:00.002-06:00

Day 41 - Friday- 3/5

2010-03-07T08:50:00.002-06:00

The National Bowling Stadium - Reno

Day 40 - Thursday 3/4

2010-03-04T20:04:00.002-06:00

Last picture I'll get for a few days.. We left Katelin at home with Grandma & Grandpa while we went to the national bowling tourney.

Day 39 - Sunday 2/28

2010-03-01T11:19:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Day 38 - Saturday 2/27

2010-02-27T22:41:00.006-06:00

Day 37 - Friday 2/26

2010-02-27T22:41:00.004-06:00

Day 36 - Thursday 2/25

2010-02-25T21:35:00.002-06:00

Go Illini!
Katelin wouldn't hold still for a picture but her Illini baby legs came in. So cute!

Day 35 - Wednesday 2/24

2010-02-24T22:17:00.002-06:00

Day 34 - Saturday 2/20

2010-02-20T14:05:00.002-06:00

Swim Lessons!

Day 33 - Friday 2/19

2010-02-20T14:03:00.002-06:00

Day 32 - Wednesday 2/17

2010-02-20T14:01:00.003-06:00

Two pictures today!
First... this is what happens when daddy is in charge of me:

Dinner is so good.. I need to lick my plate!

Day 31 - Tuesday 2/16

2010-02-20T13:59:00.001-06:00

This is what I do when mommy lets me get close to the dresser... I pull everything out I can. The saftey latches still let me get my hand in :)

Happy Birthday Aunt Jen!

Day 30 - Sunday 2/14

2010-02-20T13:57:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentines Day!

Proof that Katelin isn't always happy & smiling. This freak out is because I told her she couldn't have something (cheese or goldfish??) for breakfast.

Day 29 - Saturday 2/13

2010-02-20T13:56:00.002-06:00

Getting ready to sign Aunt Jen's birthday card.

Day 28 - Friday 2/12

2010-02-20T13:54:00.000-06:00

We ended up with about 7 inches of snow! CRAZY for our area.

Day 27 - Thursday 2/11

2010-02-20T13:36:00.002-06:00

We got a lot of snow!

Opps! I got a little behind!

2010-02-20T13:35:00.001-06:00

I took pictures, but I just didn't post them so today is a catch-up day!

Day 26 - Wednesday

2010-02-11T08:15:00.002-06:00

Playing the piano... She loves music

Day 25 - Tuesday

2010-02-09T20:10:00.002-06:00

Sleepy girl. Katelin and I met up with Kelli and Bella for lunch and I meant to get a picture of the two girls but of course in the chaos of eating and talking... It didn't happen. Katelin fell asleep on the way home and didn't want to wake up when I opened her door!

Day 24 - Monday

2010-02-08T20:28:00.002-06:00

Dinner... Just about the only time I see Katelin on my work days.

Day 23 - Sunday

2010-02-07T23:32:00.001-06:00

Pony Tail!

Day 22 - Saturday

2010-02-07T23:31:00.002-06:00

Dad's hat!

Day 21 - Friday

2010-02-05T23:47:00.002-06:00

Boat Show!

Day 20 - Thursday

2010-02-05T23:46:00.002-06:00

Playing in my ball-pit / pool.

Day 19

2010-02-03T22:04:00.002-06:00

Day 18

2010-02-02T17:41:00.002-06:00

Daddy... This one is mine, right?

Day 17 (Monday)

2010-02-02T07:37:00.002-06:00

Dinner Time!

Day 16 (Saturday)

2010-02-01T23:07:00.002-06:00

Mom's lunch bag matches my shirt! I'm a fashion statement!

Day 15

2010-01-29T21:40:00.002-06:00

Giving Roscoe some lovin'

Day 14 - Thursday night is the start of my weekend :)

2010-01-28T21:00:00.002-06:00

Day 13 (Wednesday's picture post)

2010-01-28T17:38:00.004-06:00

I'm a day late posting this one so there should end up being two pictures today.

Yes, I'm getting that big! That giant blob in the picture is my belly! Good news is the little bit of white you see sticking out from the right side of Katelin's shirt (her left sleeve) is my foot... one advantage of big feet I guess is I never lose sight of them even with a big-old pregnant belly!
Katelin is leaning backwards slightly so her hair is hanging all crazy.

A REAL post!

2010-01-28T12:43:00.005-06:00

Just thought I would post something real on here for a change instead of the daily pictures (which I've missed the past couple days).

Over the past couple years, I've been trying to be more environmentally aware. I'm not saying I've gone all hippy-crunchy-green, but I am trying to do my part. Are you doing yours???

* I recycle. I don't like to be judge-y, but if you don't recycle at least some of your trash, shame on you! We're lucky that our city makes recycling SO easy! We have one large recycling "can" on wheels that we can throw everything in. They take just about everything (paper, plastic, glass, metals) so it all gets tossed in the can. We pay one flat rate for recycling, no matter what size can we use but we pay a lower rate on trash because we have the smallest can. (being green doesn't have to cost more!) It drives me nuts to see some of our neighbors with three HUGE trash cans out every week and not a single recycling bin. Forget the green aspect... they are paying $$$ for each can out there and unless they've specifically opt-ed out of the recycling program, they are paying the flat rate for recycling (not many people know you can opt-out of the program). Our city also has an electronics recycling program where you can take just about anything to the city dump's recycling building and drop it off. There is a charge for computer monitors and TVs (due to the chemicals involved) but everything else is free.

* I try not to use plastic bags when I go to the store, I even bought some produce bags from a seller on etsy.com that I LOVE! I still end up with some now and then because I forgot to take my bags in and I have more than a couple items or I go somewhere other than the grocery store and the cashier automatically puts my stuff in plastic even though I've put my reusable bags on the counter!

* I use re-usable, BPA-free water bottles and a couple stainless steel lunch containers. And not that it is my doing, but we have compostable containers, cups, straws, and silverware ("tater-ware") in the cafe at work! They all get shredded up and composted onsite!

* I made most of Katelin's baby food (and I'm planning on doing this with #2 as well). This is not only greener (much less waste involved), it is cheaper and better nutritionally and it doesn't take much extra time. I'd peel & cut up a bunch of fruits/veggies and throw them in the oven. When they were done, into the blender they went. Dump it into ice cube trays and freeze. Nice, ~1oz servings could be taken out of the freezer as needed. Easy peasy!

* We recently started using cloth diapers on Katelin. We're not at 100%, but every little bit counts. I started off with 10 bum genius one-size pocket diapers. This lasted ~2 days and then into the wash they went after Katelin went to bed. I'd toss them on the drying rack and usually by morning, they'd be dry. Sometimes the inserts weren't 100% dry so I'll toss them in the dryer for ~10 minutes. We use the flushable/washable liners so I don't have to mess with the poop factor. If she poops, into the toilet they go (along with most of the poop). If she was just wet, they got tossed into the diaper pail/hamper with the diaper. So far, it seems like they are good for about 3-4 washings. These diapers are SO easy (they go on just like a regular disposable) that I ended up buying 12 more while they were on sale. Now I only have to do laundry every few days. I don't want to go too long though or they start to stink (not as bad as the disposables though since the poop has been flushed). One of the best things about these diapers is they are one-size. They claim up to 35 pounds but I've heard they aren't the best on babies under 10 pounds and not all kids will fit in them at 35 pounds. Katelin is ~28# and they fit her fine. Hopefully it won't take too long for the new baby to fit in them! I also just signed up for a newborn cloth diaper trial program. For $10 (plus shipping and a refundable deposit), they'll send me a bunch of different kinds of newborn diapers to try. Pre-folds, pockets, all-in-ones, fitteds, covers, and a snappi (if this sounds like spanish to you, don't worry, it took me a little bit to get the lingo down). The company lets you order them 3 months before you're due date so everything can be washed up and you can familiarize yourself with how they all work. All they ask is that you only use them for 21 days, wash them and send them back. Then understand that babies arrive after due dates and you may not want to use them the first couple weeks so the 21 days is all based on the honor system. If you like some of the products, you can keep them and send other stuff back and it just comes out of your deposit. I can't wait until they get here! Okay, this topic got a little long... sorry about that! I've just learned so much about them that I can't help it! Eco-friendly and cheaper in the long run than disposables!

* I make my own cloth diaper laundry detergent (you have to be careful what you use on cloth diapers due to the additives and brighteners in regular detergent) and as I run out of the semi-green cleaning supplies I have, I'm replacing them with homemade, eco-friendly versions.

* I *try* to walk/bike to the grocery store. Okay, I'll admit, I've only done this a few times. When the new Kroger and Walgreens opened up down the street, I had visions of pulling Katelin in her bike trailer up there all the time. Yeah.. I was way too out of shape for the slightly uphill climb to Kroger! I have lots of excuses but it seems that I typically stop on my way home from somewhere or I'm in a hurry (we're cooking dinner and forgot something), or the weather is bad. Maybe this spring I'll get more into it.. probably not though with a new baby!

* We switched to "green" electricity for the house. While I'd love to get solar panels or a wind turbine.. that just isn't feasible but our power company provides a 100% "green" service where all the electricity is from generated from air/water/solar sources!

* I use Freecycle. If you don't know what this is, Freecycle is a collection of Yahoo groups specific to your area. You can post OFFER and WANT adds and they go out to everyone in the group. You can see what other people have to offer or what they want/need. Everything is FREE. Some stuff is in new/good condition and other stuff needs repair. It is so much better to offer something up before just tossing it in the recycling/garbage bins! If you're looking for a specific item, that you don't mind being used, it is a great resource! We've gotten rid of several old computers/monitors/accessories and a handful of other stuff through the group. Things that normally would have just been thrown out!

I'm sure I do a lot of other things but my mind is drifting off and this post is getting pretty long!

And I couldn't do a post without a picture... my 12 NEW bum genius diapers drying on the rack!

Day 12

2010-01-25T22:35:00.003-06:00

Katelin with her giant bunny.

Day 11

2010-01-24T19:05:00.002-06:00

'Oh No!'. She spilled water on her shirt and kept saying this over and over!

Day 10

2010-01-23T20:11:00.002-06:00

Show me the money! Daddy got cash for a boat and I wanted to play with it!

Day 9

2010-01-22T20:17:00.002-06:00

Katelin making funny faces! Not sure where she learned this.

Day 8

2010-01-19T17:18:00.003-06:00

She's mesmorized by the DVD player!

Katelin is 20.5 months old and this is her 23rd flight! She's my little frequent flier :)

Once the new baby is here and she turns 2 (and we have to buy a seat for her), we probably won't fly near as much! We'll still make trips to Chicago (as long as my parents live there) and we're hoping to go to another Beaches resort in the fall. Beaches Negril was fantastic!

Day 7 - Flashback

2010-01-18T22:12:00.002-06:00

I didn't have a picture from today so this one was probably about a year ago.
I call it her 'redrum' picture (Danny's not here Mrs. Torrance). If you don't understand... Go rent 'The Shining' ASAP!

Day 6

2010-01-17T20:37:00.002-06:00

For all my Chicago friends.... Now that the Cowboys are done, Chris shouldn't be too upset with this picture!

Day 5

2010-01-16T22:45:00.002-06:00

Katelin playing with Aunt Jen & Uncle Scott's dogs.

Day 4

2010-01-15T17:00:00.002-06:00

It isn't ALL about Katelin! My growing belly at 29 weeks.

Day 3

2010-01-13T20:23:00.002-06:00

Katelin in one of her cloth diapers :). My little green baby!

Day 2

2010-01-12T11:27:00.002-06:00

Katelin "building" with her Christmas blocks from grandma & grandpa!

Picture A Day.. Day 1

2010-01-11T23:00:00.003-06:00

Several blogs I read are doing a picture a day for a year so I thought I'd put a blogging app on my phone and give it a try. I'm not going to fool myself into thinking I can actually do this for an entire year, but it is worth a shot!
The pictures will probably always be coming from my phone so they might not be the best and will probably be a little blurry.

I worked today so I don't get to see Katelin much so I snapped a couple pictures during dinner. This one cracked me up. She was screaming about something!

My Baby is no longer a Baby!

2009-09-14T12:20:00.006-05:00

I can't believe how big Katelin is getting! She amazes me every day. She is learning more and more new words, new body parts, new animal sounds, new things to get into, and new actions to mimic. This post is probably more for me so when I look back, I'll remember what she could do at this age. I'm horrible at keeping her baby book updated!

She's 16-1/2 months and she can (I may be missing some here):
Identify body parts - head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, belly, toes, and sometimes cheek, knee, and elbow.

Animal sounds - dog, cat, cow, horse, pig, duck, sheep, bird, lion, and sometimes chicken

Says - hi, bye, mama, dada, ra-ra (roscoe, our dog), light, belly, no, ball, milk cheese, shoe, fish (although these three all sound the same), 'ane' (for airplane), bath, night-night, tweet (when she sees a bird), water, mmmmm (when she's hungry) and she'll repeat even more if you say them but I'm not sure she really knows what she's saying (hot dog, backpack, outside)

She can now climb onto the futon and the 2nd shelf of the entertainment center in the game room and just this weekend, she pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and climbed into it! She still can't get onto the couch by herself though.

If you ask her if she needs her diaper changed, she'll walk over to the changing table or if it is time for "night-night", she'll walk towards the stairs or her room. If she's hungry, you can tell her to go to the kitchen and she will walk over and stand at the fridge, waiting for her milk. If she does something she's not supposed to do (like turn the tv on/off), she'll do it and then shake her finger at you and say "no no no".

She has her 4 front teeth on the top & bottom and she's working on her molars (skipping the canines is the "normal" order). Her bottom left molar is almost through (3 points are) and I think we're about to get a point to break through on the top right. The bottom right and top left could also make an appearance at any time!

Well, that is my "little" Katelin in a nutshell! As I said, I'm sure I'm forgetting things here.

Wordle

2009-07-16T13:26:00.003-05:00

Make your own wordle here!

Swim Lessons!

2009-07-12T21:43:00.008-05:00

Katelin had her first of four swim lessons on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because I was in the water with her and Chris had to work. He has the boat show for the next 2 weekends so we probably won't get any pictures for a couple weeks. I may take my camera and hope that someone else can get a couple shots for me. She did okay. Still pretty cling-y in the water, but she wasn't the worst in the class. There was a screaming child. It was so bad, the poor mom was in tears. The class is from 6 months to 3 years and I think there were some kids who had already been in that class before. It is a really cheap class and we get 1/2 the pool to ourselves so I can see why people would take it over again. I don't think Katelin is really going to learn anything from the class, but hopefully she has fun and gets a little more comfy in the water.

I know I'm a little late, but here are a couple pictures from the 4th of July.. We did our typical boat trip over to Charlie's for dinner and then watched the fireworks from the lake :) Brian, Robyn, Toby, & Landry, and my parents were with us this year.

Katelin loves the boat!

Katelin & Landry 2009:

FLASHBACK - Katelin & Landry 2008 (not the best picture of Katelin):

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T22:06:00.004-05:00

Oh yeah, and in addition to Father's Day.. my Birthday was this weekend! We went to a local Italian restaurant on Friday and then went to The Melting Pot on Saturday with my parents. We go every year for my birthday. A two-and-a-half hour dinner probably wasn't the best idea with Katelin, but she didn't do that bad. We still managed to have a nice dinner.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-15T14:33:00.015-05:00

Saturday - Lindsey's Party:

Saturday Night - Out on the Lake

Sunday - DFW Mommies BBQ/Potluck/Pool Party

Same Thing, Different Day...

2009-06-12T21:59:00.004-05:00

I find myself always talking about how busy I am as an excuse for not updating this blog regularly. While I am busy, and I do forget about keeping this up-to-date, a lot of the time I just don't know what to say. Do I talk about the mundane things that go on in our lives???? Do I try to be funny??? What if no one gets my sense of humor???? It is so much easier to just post cute pictures of Katelin :)

Last weekend, the three of us traveled to Las Vegas and Chris and I bowled in the USBC Open Championships. Katelin has not be the best traveler lately. She likes to sleep in her own crib. You can't fool her with a hotel crib or a pack 'n play(heaven forbid.. she HATES those!). The first two nights, the three of us crowded into a double bed (were they out of Kings??? Why did we end up with two double beds??). I think Chris had 1/2 the bed, Katelin had 1/4, and I had the other 1/4. Not a comfortable nights sleep. The third night, I decided there was enough room on the floor for the second mattress so Katelin and I slept in that. I cornered Katelin in so there was no fear of her rolling out of the bed and onto the floor. I slept a little better, but still not great.
Considering the crappy sleep I got, I guess I bowled okay. I averaged 172 for the tournament which is 17 pins below my current book average but I always bowl HORRIBLE there. Chris did well too. He finished higher than he has in any previous year. This was my 8th consecutive year and Chris' 7th. We'll both end up getting some cash back :)

This weekend is going to be just as busy... Katelin and I are going to a birthday party tomorrow for our friend's daughter and then we're going to the lake. Sunday we're going to a BBQ hosted by one of the mom's from a "mom's group" I've been a part of. I think right now, there are about 20 adults and 15 kids (mostly babies) that will be there! It should be a good (and eventful!) time.

I don't really see an end to our "busy-ness" until mid-July and I'm sure by then, I'll have 100 more things to add to my schedule.
Upcoming Events:
Lindsey's B-Day Party - 6/13
DFW Mommies BBQ - 6/14
Getting my hair done... something totally different.. not just a trim! - 6/17
My B-day - 6/19
My Parents get into town - 6/20
Reno, USBC Women's Tournament - 6/26-6/29
Forth of July
MNO with DFW Mommies - 7/10
Katelin's Swim Lessons Start - 7/11
Nutty 500 Bowling Tournament - 7/11

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
-Peter Kay

Wordless Wednesday - Pigtails!

2009-06-10T11:30:00.001-05:00

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-27T22:01:00.004-05:00

Our nephews Declan & Caleb (7ys old tomorrow) and our niece Avelinn (3 next week) horsing around on Chris.

Professional 12 Month Pictures

2009-05-18T17:05:00.008-05:00

Pictures were taken at Sears Portrait, Denton. 5/1/09

A YEAR, Already????

2009-05-11T21:56:00.010-05:00

A year has gone by already!?!?
My sweet little baby is an entire year old! We had her birthday party on the 26th. My mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law were able to fly down for it. :) I tried to keep it small and not go overboard but I went crazy trying to get everything perfect. I made not only her individual cake but 2 sheet cakes for everyone else. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal but my oven evidently wasn't reading the correct temperature and I have zero decorating skills so it was a challenge. My mom helped me smooth out the frosting but the crazy pink piping and sprinkles were all me. Katelin got so many great gifts! We have the best family and friends! Thanks to everyone that made the day so great.

Katelin had her 12 month checkup...
Height - 29.25" (55%)
Weight - 20 lbs, 9oz (48%)
Head - 45.5cm (65%)

We took her for her one year portraits... it seemed like half of the pictures, she was scrunching her face all up and the other half, she was trying to work out her escape plan and wouldn't sit still! Link to pictures is coming soon!

Katelin isn't waking yet but she's crawling all over, pulling herself up on everything, and "walking" around (cruising). She'll also "walk" all around the house while holding onto our fingers. One of these days, she's just going to take off running. She's saying mama, dada, rara (for our dog Roscoe), uh-oh, mmmmm (when she's hungry), hi (and possibly hey), bye-bye, and I think she's saying "I got" but I'm not 100% on that one. She also says ah-ma. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be mama and she gets confused or if she's trying to say grandma. We're so proud of our little (um, I mean big) girl!

Here are a couple pictures from her party. I'll upload more in the next week or so!

The pretty birthday girl in her new rocking chair and her new clogs.

Her cake.

Happy Birthday To You!

YUMMY!

PICTURES

2009-02-18T02:38:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures from December & January.

CLICK HERE!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

2009-02-14T13:05:00.004-06:00

I've been horrible at keeping up with this blog! There are so many things going on right now that I never seem to make time for it. I'll try to do better. For now, I just wanted to post a quick valentine's day "card" for everyone.

I'm working on posting a bunch of pictures from Christmas and our trip to Jamaica. Hopefully I'll get them up in the next week or so!.

click to see a larger version!

New Foods

2008-11-30T21:59:00.005-06:00

Well, I'm a little late on the October Foods picture and we since I had so much food in the freezer, I didn't make many new foods in November.

She pretty much likes everything we give her. Sometimes the first day is interesting but by day two, she's usually into it. She loves bananas!

Pictures

2008-11-26T23:37:00.003-06:00

Opps! I forgot to publish this post the other day!

Here are some more pictures of Katelin... she's getting sooo big!

Warning... cuteness inside!

Kodak changed their site a little bit so I hope this works for everyone.

Mmmm...

2008-11-26T22:58:00.001-06:00

My first homemade pie!

Seven Months Old!

2008-11-26T15:44:00.005-06:00

Okay, so technically, Katelin is not 7 months old... yet. Maybe by the time you read this :) Katelin will be 7 months old on Thanksgiving but things may get a little crazy around here after today so I thought I would post now. I can't believe she's (just about) 7 months old already. Time is sure flying. Maybe I should start planning her first birthday party now! Save the date.. April 26th, 2009! Okay, maybe I'm getting a little carried away. Maybe I should sit back and enjoy all the other babies' first birthday parties. I have two in December alone!

As far as a Katelin update... she's doing great (as always!). She started waving and saying something that resembled 'Hi' around Halloween. Around the middle of November, she started with "ma mam mam mam ma". She repeats it over and over. Supposedly, I can't count either as her first word since she does them randomly and doesn't know what they mean. Whatever! We're trying for "dada" but no luck on that. Chris will tell her "say dada" after a round of "mamas" and she'll look at him and blow a rasberry (stick her tounge out and blow some spit at you!). So cute. She's mama's little girl!

Last week was the last week I had to work ALL 3 days (I know... what agony.. 3 WHOLE days!). I'm off tomorrow for Thanksgiving and then I'm off at least one of my normal 3 days every week in December. While I would love to sit around on my days off and eat bon-bons, it won't be so.
Tonight, I'm making an apple pie... from scratch! At first, I was going to buy a store-made, bakery pie. Then I thought, hey, it is Thanksgiving, I should at least bake a pie pre-made, frozen pie. That turned into making a pie but using a store-bought crust and now, I've decided to go all out and make the crust. I've never made a pie crust before so I hope it turns out good! I'm feeling all Suzie-Homemaker this week.
Thursday night/Friday morning, Chris and I are hitting Haggar at midnight so he can stock up on clothes. I'd say about 80% of his clothes come from the Haggar holiday sales. Great clothes at an unbeatable price. We get coupons every holiday weekend for 25% off the total purchase but at Thanksgiving, until 10am on Friday, we get 40% off! Love it.
Friday morning I'm hitting a few stores (at 5am) and then heading back to sleep for a couple hours. Chris will have Katelin duty (I should probably tell him that!). Then Friday afternoon, we're headed to Brownswood Texas for a family reunion on Chris' dad's side. We'll be back Saturday night.
Okay, I've rambled on long enough... more later!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:18:00.003-05:00

Katelin started out Halloween with her 6 month checkup. She was 17 pounds, 26.5 inches. 70th percentile for both. She had 5 shots so that wasn't such a good start to the day. She recovered quickly and was back to her normal smile-y self.

We carved a pumpkin for her and got her all dressed up in her clown costume. When Chris got home, we took her around to a few people's houses and then headed home to put her to bed. The clown costume she wore was actually my first halloween costume and my sister's before that. My mom made it in 1976 and it is still in good shape!

Hope you had a good halloween... I sure did!

Katelin (6 months old):

Me (~4.5 months old in 1978):

6 months old!

2008-10-29T07:16:00.003-05:00

Katelin turned 6 months old on Monday! I can't believe how fast the months have gone by. She goes back to the doctor on Friday so I'll update her stats on here afterwards. Just wanted to post a couple cute pictures...

We went to the Pumpkin Patch on Sunday...

Took these on Tuesday...

More Pictures

2008-10-23T18:04:00.003-05:00

FINALLY adding more pictures of Katelin.
I can't believe she'll be 6 months on Monday!

August 19th

August 21st

September 6th

September 11th

September 12th

September 13th

September 19th

September 20th

September 24th

Feeding Time

2008-10-03T10:17:00.003-05:00

Time Flies!

2008-09-15T22:33:00.003-05:00

I can't believe how quickly the time goes by! I have all these goals of things to get done on my days off but I don't seem to accomplish very much! Organizing my pictures and updating my blog tend to fall to the bottom of the list.

Katelin is over 4 months old now. At her 4 month apt on September 2nd, she was 24 1/2 inches long and 14.6 pounds. She's still wearing most of her 0-3 month clothes although I've had to retire some already. Her 6 month appointment is on Halloween.

On Sept 7th, we started giving Katelin rice cereal. She's actually doing pretty good with the spoon. She still gets food all over her mouth, but a lot of the food goes in (and stays in) her mouth. Last weekend, I made up a bunch of baby food for her. I baked butternut squash, acorn squash, pears, and apples for her and then pureed them (separately) in the blender. We started her on the butternut squash on the 13th and she seemed to liked it. Everything else was frozen in ice cube trays so we now have over 100 frozen cubes of baby food :)! There are so many preservatives in the jar food and the cost difference is incredible. I'm not sure how much I spent on the veggies & fruit but it couldn't have been much. Not only am I saving money and feeding her preservative free foods, it is also "green-er". Even though I recycle everything I can, there is still waste in buying packaged baby food. If I remember to take my reusable grocery sacks into the store, the only waste is the fruit/veggie skin and the stickers they put on them. I have thought about composting or starting a "worm farm" but I just haven't gotten around to it. I need something easy and I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with the compost.

Katelin rolls over all the time now. She usually manages to roll-over during the night and winds up sleeping on her stomach. The first few days, she'd get her arms stuck under her and start crying in the middle of the night.

I started Baby Boot Camp a couple weeks ago. It is a great fitness class for new & expecting moms (& dads). The class is really answers some of the problems that keep new moms from the gym. Katelin comes with and enjoys watching mom sweat while she's all comfy in her stroller. If your baby needs to be fed, changed, or just wants a little attention, they understand and you just catch up when you're ready. The classes are really tough. Most of the moms have been going for a year or more so I'm the newbie that can't keep up. I'm so out of shape! We also finally set up our new elliptical machine but I haven't used it yet. One of these days!

Okay, this post is getting really long and I'm sure I'm just rambling now! I'm too tired to think anymore so I'm headed to bed!

I'll post some new pictures one of these days!

Rock On!

2008-08-11T23:50:00.004-05:00

\m/ (>.<) \m/

More Pictures

2008-08-11T23:16:00.002-05:00

Here are some "new" pictures of Katelin... some are a month old, but still super cute!

Life has been pretty busy lately.
My parents were in town for about 2 weeks. Katelin had lots of grandma and grandpa time!

I went back to work on July 21st. Everyone is really glad I'm back.. I'm pretty sure they were just waiting for me to come back so they could pass several big changes my way. There were two big changes in the works when I left and I thought they would be done before I get back but due to the ever changing priorities, they were just waiting for me to return. Fun!

On the 29th, one of my bowling friends from NJ came into town for work and we were able to meet for lunch. I usually only get to see her once a year at the national tournament we go to so it was great to see her.

We had the Dallas Summer Boat show the last two weekends in July. Luckily I didn't have to work it too much. I had to tow and help set up/pack up. Katelin went and wore her "boat show" polo (see pictures in the link above). She's just so cute!

The first weekend in August, we had the Mariah and Sea Fox dealer meeting (we just picked up those two lines in June). We flew out to Charleston on the 31st and came home on the 4th. Nice long weekend. While we were gone, Dallas had a heat wave (108 degree days!) so we were gone at a good time! It was pretty warm and humid out on the coast though. We were very hot and sticky when we spent any time outside. We got to check out (and drive) some of the new boats and of course, Katelin was adored by all! On Monday, we rented a car and drove around. We had lunch at Sticky Fingers... really good ribs! If you're ever around one, I highly recommend it.

Since we got back from Charleston, I've been working a lot and trying to recuperate, get unpacked from the trip, and getting caught up with laundry. Since we were gone Monday, I had to work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (7am-6pm). I was soooooo tired by Thursday night! I still don't know that I'm caught up yet. I'm off tomorrow though so I'll get to relax a little more.

Well, I guess I should wrap up my random ramblings here and get to bed. Katelin was doing so well sleeping until 6am or later but now she's started waking up around 3 or 4am!

Quick Picture from our trip...

2008-08-06T09:31:00.005-05:00

I just found a cool site for making online scrapbook pages! Scrapblog

It lets you be completely creative without all the cutting & glue-ing! And they have templates for the not-so-creative!

I made this page in about 5 minutes :)

(click on it to see a larger image)

I'll try to post more about our trip this weekend.

Back to Work!

2008-07-21T07:34:00.002-05:00

Well, my 12 weeks of leave are officially over and I'm back to work this morning. Just thought I would do a quick post while my e-mails download. I haven't had access to my work e-mail so all the messages that were sent to me while I was out are now downloading.... so far, there are over 500! Yikes!

I decided to return to work on a reduced schedule. I will be working 10 hour days Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. I was thinking about going down to 20 hours a week but at 30 hours I can keep my benefits so it made sense to go the extra hours.

Happy Monday!

Chris and Katelin

2008-07-17T23:20:00.004-05:00

Here is the comparison for Chris and Katelin.

Both are 10 weeks, 5 days in this picture.
Chris was 13lbs, 11oz. At 9 weeks, 2 days, Katelin was only 11 pounds, 6oz.

I'll post more later... for now it is time for bed!

Trish & Katelin

2008-07-07T23:04:00.002-05:00

Who says Katelin doesn't look like her Mommy???

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-05T22:37:00.006-05:00

As usual, we went out on Lake Lewisville for the 4th of July celebration. Brian, Robyn and Landry met us and we took out their pontoon boat. We had dinner at Charlie's and then went out on the lake to watch the fireworks.
It was Katelin's first boat ride and she seemed to enjoy it.

(click on the photo to see a larger image)

Landry is now 6 months old.

My camera has a fireworks setting so I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately, you need to hold the camera steady and the boat was swaying quite a bit so the pictures didn't turn out very well. I thought this one was cool though...

Hope everyone had a good 4th!

2 Month Checkup

2008-07-01T21:57:00.008-05:00

Katelin had her 2 month checkup this morning. She's getting sooooo big! She was 11 pounds, 6 ounces (50th percentile), 23 inches long (75th percentile), and her head circumfrence was 39cm (50th percentile).

We had a very busy time while we were out of town. Last weekend, my parents, my sister and I drove up to Detroit so I could bowl in the Women's National tournament. I didn't bowl very well but we had fun. Friday night, we went to the Detroit Tigers game.

Katelin went swimming for the first time on Saturday. The pool was a little too chilly for her but the "hottub" was not so hot... only 95 degrees. Since her baths are usually between 94-97 degrees, we tried swimming in there. She loved it!

I made Katelin a cute little onsie with a bowling graphic on the back and "My Mommy Bowls Better Than Your Mommy" on the front. Everyone loved her and her outfit at the bowling tournament (even if her mommy bowled horrible). How can you not love her though???

Coming home to Dallas with Katelin by myself was a little interesting. Getting through security took me a little extra time (getting her in and out of her car seat and getting everything on & off the belt) but she did really well on the flight again. She was fussy before take-off but once we got moving, she fell asleep and stayed asleep most of the time. I even got to eat my lunch while holding her. The only problem was that I gate checked her stroller and car seat and for some reason, the people at O'Hare didn't put them on our flight. We waited at Dallas for the next Chicago flight to get in hoping that they made it onto that flight but no such luck. The baggage service gave us a loaner car seat so we could leave the airport and then our stuff was delivered sometime between 1:30 and 3:30 this morning. Luckily they just left it outside and didn't ring the bell because I was actually sleeping. When I brought them in around 3:30 this morning, the sprinklers were going off so I'm glad we had the car seat in a water resistant bag!

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July. We're probably going on out the lake to watch the fireworks. It'll be Katelin's first boat ride.

More Pictures!

2008-06-27T08:38:00.007-05:00

Here's a link to an assortment of pictures from 5/21 to 6/26....

Katelin is 2 months old today!

More Pictures of Katelin

What a Weekend!

2008-06-21T17:37:00.012-05:00

This has been a busy weekend for us. On Friday, we flew up to Chicago. Katelin made it through her first flight without a fuss. She slept most of the way. Taking off and landing didn't bother her a bit. Good thing since we fly several times a year! We flew using miles and because of the types of mileage awards available, it actually cost us less miles to fly first class so we spoiled Katelin. I hope she doesn't get used to it! We're back to coach for our next trip.

Friday night my cousin got married so we went to his wedding. Katelin got all dressed up in her pretty pink and frilly dress from Grandma Zimmerman.

We got to show Katelin off to all my family on my dad's side. She was very good. Didn't make a sound during the ceremony and only cried a little bit at the reception. When she did cry, the music was going so only a couple people right around her could hear it. The DJ had colored lights moving around on the ceiling and Katelin was mesmerized by them. I think we may need to try picking up a cheap colored light party ball thing from Wal-mart and see if that helps her fall asleep in the crib.

Since everyone on my dad's side got to see Katelin on Friday night, we had a little get-together with the people on my mom's side and a few of my friends Saturday night. It wound up being a meet Katelin/30th B-day party for me. Of course, Katelin was a big hit again. She got to meet Lucy, the 5 month old daughter of two of my friends from high school. Katelin looks so little next to Lucy!

Katelin is smiling a lot now (and not just when she has gas anymore). She's getting more and more responsive. She can roll over from her back onto her side so it is just a matter of time before she can roll over onto her stomach. That should be her next milestone. We go back to the pediatrician on July 1st so we'll have a height/weight update then. If I were guessing, I'd say she's around 10 pounds now and maybe 23 inches long. Of course, that is a complete guess.

I've added some new links on the left side of the page. Katelin has a You Tube site that we've posted a couple videos on. I've also added links to her newborn pictures/slide show. At 2-1/2 weeks, we had a photographer come out to the house and took some great pictures. He put together a wonderful slide show that will bring tears to your eyes. If anyone is expecting in the DFW area, see if he'll come to your area. He only does newborn pictures up to 3 weeks old though so you need to get on the schedule. He doesn't do any other ages either. He's amazing and his price was really good.

Sunday we celebrated a belated Father's Day for my dad and Chris since we were all in town before Jen and Scott headed home. We just went to Northwoods so Chris could have some Walleye before he headed home. Evidently, you can't get Walleye in Texas. Who knew! Chris also requested some pizza so Sunday night, we enjoyed some tasty stuffed pizza (YUM!). My last trip up to Chicago was so short, I didn't get to have any good pizza. I miss it.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well. It was great seeing everyone this weekend and we're looking forward to showing Katelin off even more :) I'll post a slide show with more Katelin pictures this week.

The Big 3-0!

2008-06-19T22:57:00.002-05:00

Okay, I said I was going to update this blog today so here it is! Today was my birthday and I turned 30. No big deal to me though. I feel like I accomplished a lot before I hit 30. Found a good job, bought a house, traveled to various countries around the world, got married, had a child... what else could I ask for???

I know you are all wanting to see new pictures of Katelin but it'll have to wait another day. We're leaving for the airport in 5 hours (6am flight!) and I've already shut down my computer. Chris' doesn't have any pictures on it. Katelin will be taking her first flight tomorrow! How exciting. Hopefully she'll sleep or be quite. We're going up to Chicago so it is only a 2 hour flight.

I'll try to update more tomorrow!
Trish