Final 2007 Katy update!

Ok, so I know it has been a LONG time since a post. I had wanted to post an update when Katy turned 15mnths on Nov. 18th. She had a checkup with her pediatrician, and definitely impressed her doctor with her communication skills! Katy finally broke the 20lb barrier, weighing in at 20lbs, 8oz and measuring 30" tall.

On Nov. 21st we celebrated Benji's 34th birthday. The next day was Thanksgiving and the start of a 4-day weekend, in which I had all sorts of plans for what I would accomplish, not the least being Katy's 15mnth update here for her loyal fan club. Unfortunately, I ended up sick with a nasty cold, and finally had to give in to it and just rest & recover. We were nearing departure day for St. Pete's Beach (where Katy's Greatgrandmother and Benji's Aunt & Uncle live). We visited them in December last year, and Katy and I went sick and passed it along to them, so we were on strict instructions to present healthy this time around!! Thankfully, by about a week later, I was feeling much better, and Benji & Katy didn't catch it. But it did put me WAY behind schedule, between trying to get ahead at my new part-time job as our church's Kids Community Admin Assistant and making sure Christmas cards were in the mail and our house was ready to host Christmas upon our return on Dec. 21st. We managed to get it all done, but my hopes of blogging were not to be realized!

Hopefully, while I was unable to post news here online, you have all received our Christmas card & letter. A couple were returned with incorrect addresses, so if you didn't get one, I'm sorry!! Send me your current address and I will send one on... later is better than never, right??

We were away from Dec. 6th to 21st... in St Pete's Beach until the 11th, and then we drove to Fort Lauderdale to join my family for a 10 day cruise to the Southern Caribbean. We had a wonderful holiday, and Katy especially thoroughly enjoyed every single bit of it. She turned 16mnths while we were cruising. It was a great time to be with family, as both Benji's relatives and my family got to watch Katy go from taking just a few steps to getting pretty good at walking (ship swaying at all... this 1yr old has great sea legs!!).
The video clip is the day there was a definite big step made... our last full day in St Pete's Beach, Dec. 10th... suddenly Katy was more confident and taking off on her own, and even stood up all by herself, without pulling up on anything. This progress continued daily on the cruise, so by the time we returned home, we had a toddler on our hands. Katy now no longer crawls at all! And while I don't have an official 16mnth weigh-in... I checked her on our scale when we returned home, and it looks like she is up around 23lbs!! That would be a good 2lbs in one month, which is crazy... somebody apparently took full advantage of all the food on our cruise!!

Katy continues to astonish everybody with her verbal and signing skills, and her obvious comprehension demonstrated by her ability to respond appropriately to questions or directions. She can put two words together, such as "Hi Daddy!", or "My Mommy". She even has a few Spanish words, such as "Hola!" and "mas" (more). Just in the two weeks we were gone, we daily heard more and more vocabulary. Katy also LOVES music and dancing, and is extremely entertaining to watch. She really enjoys playing with stacking cups, "bubble" and "wa-wa" (bubbles & water), and loves going to the park or playing in the sand.

I will post more about our vacation in future posts, as well as some more videos and pictures. I have already posted photo albums on Facebook from our cruise and Christmas. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and Happy New Year!

First Steps!

Katy's Daddy, here... yep, this is my first post on this blog.

Katy has been on the verge of walking for a while now, and tonight she finally put a few steps together walking between us! When I first got the camera out Katy was too interested in it to perform... fortunately our last try (after we'd stripped her for bathtime) proved more successful, although probably more embarrassing for "future Katy."

The last clip in the sequence is hard to hear... basically Katy cut the filming session short by peeing on the floor and then splashing around in her new puddle. Funny girl!

By the way, the living room's condition was partly due to a 5-baby playgroup that had just left, and partly due to Katy squirming while we pulled her clothes off for bathtime.

Happy Halloween!

Katy had opportunity to wear her costume several times this season. The weekend before last one of her little friends had a 1st birthday costume party. Once I decided Katy would be Little Red Riding Hood, I thought... Benji could go along as the Wolf while I'd be Grandma. We had a fun time at the party, and our costumes won us "Best Dressed Family" and a $30 gift card to Barnes & Noble.






























Katy with 3 of her good friends, and us mommies, from Las Madres.





Yesterday I took Katy trick or treating at Santana Row (an outdoor shopping center whose stores were handing out candy as well as holding fun activities and puppet shows). I finally gave in, when Katy was sucking on one with wrapper, and let her have a lollipop. One very satisfied little girl!

Today, we went to Benji's work for their annual Halloween lunch and costume competition. Benji entered the race for Scariest costume, and also entered for Best couple as Wolf & Riding Hood. And won both!!... so our prizes included a $50 gift card to Macys and 2nd $50 giftcard to a really good Italian restaurant. So in case you aren't keeping track, that's $130 worth of winnings from our costumes! And I thought all you got at Halloween was mini-chocolate bars! :) We spent a fun evening with our friends from our small group at one of their homes, enjoying a yummy dinner, wine & dessert, while all the kids helped hand out candy to the trick or treaters. Hope all of you had a Happy Halloween too!!

Katy at the Pumpkin Patch

Last week our Las Madres group did a special outing to a local Pumpkin Patch. Katy totally had a blast crawling all around the pumpkins, which she points to and calls "Ba" (balls). She thinks she's surrounded by hundreds of orange balls... what could be more fun??

Hurricane Katy!

Today Katy turned 14 months old, and over this last month our little tropical storm has been growing into a hurricane! Katy may not yet be walking on her own, but it hardly slows her down. She has no trouble maneuvering into anything & everything, and she does it in the blink of an eye! I now go though daily trade-offs, such as "I need 5 min to blowdry my hair, so if pulling EVERY last piece of tissue off of the toilet paper roll keeps her happy, so be it."

Katy not only creates a storm, she talks up one! Yesterday, as we left the children's section at Barnes & Noble, an employee who'd been laughing as she listened to Katy's fast, non-stop talking, came over and said to Katy, "Bye-bye Gabby!" She really is quite comical to listen to. And while Katy has always been social, the degree seems to be ever-increasing. Wherever we go, she makes a new friend, whether it be the park, the library, the coffeeshop, the bookstore... it doesn't matter. Katy is beside herself with joy if another child comes over to her and gives her a hug, or as a little 4yr old girl did today at the park, picks her up! The only problem is she wants to hug and kiss non-stop, and lately she cries like her little heart is broken when a newest friend has to leave, or we have to go home.




Katy is getting better & better at mimicking sounds and words. She has mastered "Hi" and "Bye", and says it pretty much to everyone she sees. She barks whenever she hears a dog, and is becoming more & more adept at sign language. She just added "cold" today! It is just so much fun watching our little baby girl growing & learning & socializing.

I'll conclude this month's update with a couple of photos from a Saturday morning about 2 weeks ago. Just like her daddy, Katy is a gadget-girl, and apparently decided it was time for Daddy to move on over and let her get to work!

Ready for some video fun?

There have been rumours of some cute video clips of Katy, and several requests for their addition here. We do have some clips taken over the past month, now that Katy is becoming more & more active and able! As for the cute part, I am obviously a biased party, so I'll let you be the judge. First clip was taken in our living room, where Daddy & Katy go for a ride just before bathtime. So... all aboard!

Look at Katy go!

These two clips were taken just 2 wks ago. In the first, Katy was thrilled to find a toy that enabled her to enjoy a walk around the park! We were enjoying an end-of-summer picnic with our Las Madres group on a Sunday afternoon. The next day, Benji took care of Katy for a few hours in the afternoon while I covered for another doctor. Katy showed off for her Daddy, proudly pushing the little train we brought back from Canada (thanks Lauren & Jackson!).

Happy Hollow Thrills

When Jackson was visiting back in August, we all went to Happy Hollow Amusement Park & Zoo. Since it's only 5 min from our house, we got an annual pass, and I've continued to take Katy back as she loves it! I discovered she liked the rides, and seems to have no fear. So when we returned with Daddy the weekend before last, we made sure to bring along the camera. Quite a few of the parents were astonished to see this tiny little girl going bravely on the rides and having fun!

Katy infects the North...

The 3 of us spent a week over Labour Day weekend with all of my family in Moose Jaw. While Katy and I have been a couple times already this year, it's the first time Benji has been able to go with us since last October. Katy decided to share a little more than just her good looks & charm on this trip... 24 hrs before our flight was set to depart, she came down with a VERY virulent stomach flu. It was a rough night as we tried to pack while taking care of a very sick little girl, but thankfully Katy was tired but on the mend by departure time. However, I woke up in the middle of our first night in MJ with it, and the stubborn bug proceeded to pass to Benji, then Jackson, Lauren, my dad, and Samantha. It was one person after the next, everyone sick for exactly 24 hrs and then back to 100% normal, ready to reassure the next poor victim it would be over soon!! In spite of Katy infecting the Great White North, we enjoyed our time with everyone. We had a combined birthday party for Katy & Jackson (who turned 4 Sept 9th!), and I had the rare opportunity to celebrate my own birthday with family. Of course, we can't go on a trip and not bring back lots of photos to post... the first one being my mom greeting Katy as we arrived at the airport. So here's some more - enjoy!



Katy & Jackson enjoy some water play at Nanna & Papa's house.









Katy very much enjoys her first ice-cream cone, courtesy of Nanna, generously sharing a lick with Papa!

While I took my turn with the stomach flu, Benji & Katy were treated to dinner at Brad & Samantha's home.


Katy gives a thirsty Papa a sip from the hose while playing out in their front yard on a gorgeous day.












All dried and back indoors, Katy enjoys silly kisses from her Nanna.

The joint birthday party...

I wonder who picked what kind of cake they would have for their birthday party... Jackson or Katy??? :)






























Katy appears quite content with Jackson's choice of cake.

























Katy was one happy little girl with all her new toys!

Thanks everyone!

My birthday dinner

Daddy's girl










Lauren & Ferlan

And finally... Katy offers her passport for inspection as it's time to head back to San Jose

I forgot to mention...

... that Katy has all 4 upper front teeth coming in at once! We knew one was on it's way just as we were leaving for Canada 4 wks ago. While there, she would burst out crying for what seemed like no reason, which is very unlike our Katy. We would give her some baby Tylenol, assuming it was the tooth that was the problem. Upon a closer inspection when we arrived home a week later (not the easiest thing to do, as Katy isn't too cooperative when it comes to trying to look at her gums), I realized that all 4 teeth were poking through. Poor girl!! They are still in various stages of coming in, but they don't seem to be as painful anymore. But Katy still often has a finger or thumb rubbing back and forth over the area. She still only has the two front teeth on the bottom. So 6 teeth in (almost)... only 26 more to go!!

Oh, one more thing! Yesterday, all by herself, Katy pulled herself up holding on to one of those little toddler sit & ride or push toys (this one is a little train we brought back from Canada that goes "choo-choo" as it's pushed along). She then proceeded to walk pushing it right across the living room until she hit a wall and couldn't go any further. Katy was very proud of herself... kept looking at me over her shoulder with a big grin. So our little girl has now progressed from standing to walking if she just has something for balance! And it's not the easiest task on our hardwood floors, as any toy on wheels glides quickly, but her little feet kept up!

13 mnth update

I'm a few days late, but it's time for Katy's 13mnth update. This past month can be summed up as the "mobility month." Katy turned 1 and apparently decided, "Ok, it's time for me to get going!" One month ago she was just barely crawling a few steps here & there. 10 days after turning 1, right as we were heading for a week visit in Canada, Katy began pulling herself up to standing. (I will post photos from our visit there soon!) Only a few weeks later, and there is no stopping her... she now crawls all over the house, pulls herself up on anything and anyone, and even takes small steps while holding onto furniture or our hands.

Katy is as social as ever, saying "Hi!" to random people we pass on the street or in stores. And she'll keep saying it until she is acknowledged! Katy loves her stuffed animals and teddy bears... every morning we find her happily hugging each one. Katy will also hold her dolls just like a baby - on one shoulder while patting their backs as if to burp them - too cute!!

If there is a cupboard or drawer to open and empty, Katy will find it! It has definitely been a fun month... but gone are my days of sitting her down and knowing she'll stay in one place! Changing her diaper has now changed into a mini-battle each time, as she immediately rolls over and sits up, hangs over her change-table, or starts crawling away if we're on the floor. What happened to my cooperative little baby?? And this new phase of mobility isn't going anywhere... I'm sure Katy's first steps are not be too far in the future! So stay tuned...

Children's Discovery Museum

Yet another outing during their week visit was to the Children's Discovery Museum in downtown San Jose. First up, face painting... Jackson asked Lauren to replicate the Spiderman face somebody had down for him previously in Moose Jaw. Both Katy & Jackson had fun interacting with all sorts of neat stuff... from balls floating in the air, to neat tricks with water, to making corn dolls, and enjoying a slightly less insane atmosphere in the under 4 room.




















Now can you see why Katy was sleeping 13-14 hrs at night during their visit??!