Katy's 9mnth update!

So I attempted yesterday to start posting photos from several events in May, but once again, blogger would not cooperate. In about an hour the 3 of us are heading to the airport to fly to Portland, to spend Memorial Day weekend with Benji's Uncle Keith & Tia Debbie. It will be Katy's first time meeting them, as well as Benji's cousins, Nathan & Karalee. Since we're all packed, and Katy is napping, I thought I'd at least give you her 9 mnth update. Once we get back from Vancouver, WA (just across the bridge from Portland) next Tuesday, I'll work at getting more pics up.

Katy turned 9mnths old on May 18th, and has now officially doubled her birth weight. She was 15lbs 3 oz when I weighed her at our breastfeeding support group on May 15th. Her biggest news... her first tooth is on it's way! The day she turned 9 mnths, I noticed a little hole on the bottom left front. Two days later, I noticed another hole on the right front as well, and you could begin to feel a tiny sharp point coming through that first hole. It is not quite all the way through yet, but you can now see the top edge of that bottom left tooth, and I think the right one will be right behind it. Our poor baby has obviously been in some discomfort... she wants to be cuddled more than usual, and she has been uncharacteristically fussy in the late afternoons the last couple of days. So any day now, our little girl should have teeth!

But on the whole, our Katy is still her very happy, flirtatious self. She LOVES to wave, and it's a princess/beauty pageant sort of wave, which of course charms everyone. Mother's Day weekend we introduced the sippy cup, which she had figured it immediately. A couple of days later, she was sucking water from the straw in my water bottle like an old pro. So we got her a little rubbermaid drink box that has a straw, and she loves it. She just gulps the water down - it's now one of her favourite things. It also continually amazes us how she can pack away the food for such a petite little thing. A couple of new foods recently added are yogurt and chicken. She is definitely showing preferences for certain foods, now that she has an increasingly bigger repertoire. If she doesn't trust what I'm giving her, she'll dip her tongue in the spoon to see if it meets her fancy. So I sometimes have to get creative with combining a well-liked food (which is typically anything that she can chew) with a not-so-loved item (such as avocado, or anything in puree form).

Over the past couple of weeks, Katy has been to her first Major League baseball game, watching the Giants in San Francisco one beautiful, warm evening at the ballpark. We unfortunately did not win, but it was an exciting game, and she enjoyed flirting with the guy sitting next to us. She's also been to her first disco, at an event called "Baby Loves Disco" last weekend... a nightclub is transformed into a disco for children 6 mnths to 7 yrs old for an afternoon. Katy very much enjoyed a 4-day visit with her Auntie Samantha, who arrived last Sunday and left just this past Thursday morning. Thanks for lending her to us Uncle Brad! And, of course, we celebrated our first Mother's Day together. The picture is the two of us celebrating it with Daddy at one of our favourite restaurants - Pasta Pomodoro. And I'll soon post more pictures from all these events - just stay tuned!

Our social little girl...

Katy with her friends at our "Sign with your Baby" class

Enjoying dinner out with Henry

Having fun at the park with Judah

Playing with friends at the library lapsit

While the adults prepare for another episode of "24" at our weekly Monday night gathering with our friends Mark & Michelle, Katy gets some playtime in with their son Drew just before they both go to bed.

Kissing Katy

You've already seen a photo of Katy trying to kiss Jackson... which she attempted many times over our visit. She also always has lots of big, wet, open-mouth kisses for her mommy and daddy, as well as other family members. However, recently our precocious Katy has not been limiting her affection to family... she has developed quite an eye for the boys! We have missed some great moments when the camera was not readily available, but we have managed to captured a few glimpses of our "Kissing Katy!"

April 7th: Katy & Judah (2yrs old) embrace in our livingroom

April 14th: Katy & Henry, while waiting to be seated at a restaurant with our friends, Jason & Kari and their 4 yr old daughter, Cosette.April 29th: Katy quickly found a new boyfriend minutes into an big engagement party we all attended in downtown San Jose


Katy and Aarnav (2 1/2 yrs old)

Katy & Jackson at bathtime

Couldn't resist posting a few more pics of the two cuties. They loved bathtime together! In this last one, Jackson is leaning over to give Katy a soft kiss on her forehead... so precious.

Cute cousins & the best of friends

Katy hanging out with the Perryman side...

So finally Blogger is somewhat cooperating and letting me post some pics of Katy with my side of the family. As hard as I tried, I realized I failed to get photos of everyone. However, alot of pictures were often taken with Samantha's camera. She is arriving for a visit in less than two weeks, so I'll get the rest of the pics then and post some more! I tried my best to get lots of photos, but I often am so focused on Katy I forget to pull it out. Katy always had big smiles for the guys... my dad, Dale (Jackson's Dad), & Brad (Samantha's husband). Not that she doesn't like the women, but she just loves to flirt with all the males.

Out for Greek food with the whole family (Katy is keeping her eyes on Brad)Katy with her Papa, whom she adored
Katy & Auntie Samantha at Smitty's for breakfast

Auntie Lauren & a very tired Katy who wants her MommyUncle Brad with a little girl who, as much as she liked him, is upset he isn't able to provide milk!

Next up... Katy heads North, back up to Canada

I warned you there would be alot of updating to do! As mentioned earlier, Katy's Nana and Titi Lisa departed on April 17th, and the very next day, Katy and I headed back up to Canada for her third visit to the booming metropolis of Moose Jaw, SK. Poor Daddy had to again stay behind to work. Although Benji was not at all happy with being a childless bachelor for another 8 days, he generously let us go so all the Perryman side could see Katy again. Katy and I had last visited in January, but since 3 mnths can bring such big changes in the life of a baby, everyone was eagerly waiting our (Katy's) return to her Canadian roots.

Nanna (my mom) and Auntie Samantha (my youngest sister) met us at the airport in Regina. I have to take a moment to brag about how well Katy did, once again, on all the legs of our flight. She was the social butterfly of the plane, especially with the men and any other children she saw. Flying gets a little more challenging the older and more mobile and into absolutely everything Katy gets, but I can't complain, because she is so easy to keep happy, which of course the other passengers appreciate! It was late by the time we arrived home in Moose Jaw, so we had to wait until the following day to see everybody else.

Katy's cousin, 3 1/2 yr old Jackson, arrived at Nanna's house the following morning. From our bedroom downstairs I could hear him asking, "Where's Baby Katy?" He was so excited to see her! I can not say enough about how good Jackson was, all week long, playing with her. He loved that she could sit and play with toys with him, and that she would smile so big, just for him. Katy also always wanted to touch him and kiss him, which he liked, except for the baby drool. "She spittin'... that Ucky" :) They had to much fun together, playing with his cars (which were Katy's favourite toys!), going out to McDonald's, and having bathtime together. Jackson was a little concerned about Katy's lack of teeth, informing me that if Katy did not get teeth soon, she would need to go see a dentist.

Speaking of McDonald's, this is where Katy got her first culinary experience of french fries! Nanna decided Katy just had to try some, which of course delighted Katy! I tried, on the whole, to limit Katy's new tasting adventures courtesy of Nanna, but I gave in on this one. It's just potatoes, right?!?

It was just a really nice, really relaxing week with family. Katy and I stayed at my parent's house, but visited my sisters as well. Lauren lives right across the street, so Katy and Jackson played together at both places, as well as having baths together most nights. Samantha & Brad live one block over and one block down, so we enjoyed a yummy Italian dinner one night at their place.

I think I'll do a separate post of photos of Katy & Jackson, as there are so many! Thanks to Nanna & Papa for treating us to this visit, and to Nanna for all the meals she put on for the entire Perryman clan! Looking forward to all 3 of us coming this summer for some cottage-by-the-lake time. Katy will love it.

OK, I was going to add a few more family pics, but that feature on blogger isn't working at the moment. So for now, I'll post this, and put up pictures as soon as I can!

And MORE visitors!

Katy got to spend an entire week with her Nana Tittle (Benji's mom) and her Titi Lisa (Benji's much younger sister). They arrived within an hour of David & Sharon departing. Katy was already in bed, so it was the next morning when she discovered there were again more visitors, much to her delight. As Lisa used to live in the Bay Area, up until completing her master's thesis in January and moving back home, Katy definitely seemed to remember her. If Lisa was present, I could barely get Katy to eat because she was so focused on watching her. And if Lisa went out of sight, Katy would try to crane her neck trying to see her and waiting for Lisa to reappear. She loved Lisa singing and dancing with her. And we found out Katy and Lisa share a mealtime habit... when eating food they enjoy, they both make little noises while chewing it. Very funny!

Katy really enjoyed her time with her Nana Tittle too. Nana babysat one morning while Benji and I went out, and she and Katy were having a great time together when we arrived home! It was an added bonus to have some more fluent Spanish speakers in the home, since we are hoping that Katy will be bilingual. Daddy always speaks Spanish to her, but she usually hears way more English conversing, so it was nice to have hear others speaking Spanish. The last day before they had to return home, Diana and I took Katy for an 8-mnth photo shoot, and Nana very generously bought us a great photo package... there were just so many cute shots!

It was another wonderful visit with family. Katy just loved having their company, and they will definitely be missed. Thanks for coming to see us!

Our one-day visit with David & Sharon

So in between my aunt & cousin departing early in the morning of April 10th, and Benji's mom and sister arriving that evening, Benji's brother David & his wife Sharon flew in from LA to spend the afternoon with us! Or to be more accurate, to see Katy, who was growing up fast since their last visit with her at Christmas. Benji took the day off, so we could make the most of our short time with them. We had lunch together at our house, and Katy then got to play with her Tio (Uncle) David & Auntie Sharon. After her nap, everyone accompanied Katy and I to her weekly lapsit at the library in San Jose. The lapsit is for babies 0-12mnths... the librarian does songs & rhymes, reads books, and plays music while the moms and babies dance along. Afterwards she puts down some toys and the babies can have some time to play. This week, after the lapsit & playtime, Katy got the added bonus of reading books with David & Sharon. They also hunted through baskets of books to choose the best ones for Katy to bring home! We then enjoyed an early dinner with them, and then we had to say goodbye.

Our time with David & Sharon, although too brief, was really nice. Katy obviously enjoyed her visit with them, and it was wonderful to see them. Thanks for taking a day out of your crazy schedules to come see us! We know it isn't easy... not only do they have their full-time jobs to contend with, David is now acting in a play in LA. But since that visit, we also got to spend a Sunday morning with Sharon, during a layover in San Jose (Sharon is the other member of the family working for Alaska Airlines). We're crossing our fingers hoping for more such times in months ahead!

Katy having fun with her Tio David and the puppy they bought her for Christmas Katy with her Auntie Sharon
Dancing with Mommy at the lapsit, happy to have an audience

Playing with toys and friends at the library after the lapsit Our girl loves books! Getting very into storytime with Tio David

Katy's First Easter

We were able to celebrate Katy's first Easter Sunday with Gwenda & Natalie. Katy donned her cute Easter outfit, and we went off to church, where we all enjoyed chocolate fondue at communion!! Yes, that wasn't a typo... since our church figured Easter is a time to celebrate, one could not only partake in communion during the music & worship, you could also dip bananas, strawberries, marshmallows, cookies, and more into 1 of 3 chocolate fountains. Yummy start to the day! All 5 of us then headed to San Francisco for the rest of the day. Since Katy loves people, she LOVED the crowds everywhere we went... Ghiradelli chocolate factory, Pier 39, cablecars, etc. And as an added bonus, the night before, Katy's Uncle Daniel even dropped in for a visit during a layover (he is a flight attendant with Alaska Airlines). So lots of family and fun all weekend long!


Katy in her Easter outfit Deciding where to have lunch at Pier 39 in San Francisco
Hanging out with Uncle Daniel
Riding with cousin Natalie on the cable car in SF
Katy flirting with the cable car operator

Is it May already???

Ok ok, so I know this update and the many more posts and pics about to come are quite belated. I am going to try to get caught up here, but Katy had SUCH a busy April! I managed to tell you about our fun visit with Gwenda & Natalie. The reason you have not yet heard from us is their departure, back on April 10th, was not the end of our family visits. Next up... Benji's family! That same morning (4/10), Katy's Uncle David & Auntie Sharon flew in from LA just to see her for the day! Not even an hour after they left, that same evening, Katy's Nana Tittle and Titi Lisa (Benji's mom and sister) flew in from Calexico, to stay with us for a week. They departed on April 17th. The very next day, Katy and I flew to Canada for Katy's 3rd visit to Moose Jaw to see the Perryman crew. We arrived home about a week ago, on Thursday, April 26th. Amidst of all these family visits, there were many fun events and milestones: Katy's 1st Easter, completing our 6 wk "Sign with your baby" class, Katy taking San Francisco by storm, eating french fries (???) and of course turning 8 mnths old on April 18th, just to name a few! And to go out of April with a bang, Katy just danced the night away this past Sunday at an engagement party.

So the 8 mnth stats??? Katy jumped to 14lbs, 11oz, and is approx 27 1/2" long. She is now quite possibly the most flirtatious little baby girl any of us have ever seen! She continually picks out the male species wherever we go... in the mall, at a restaurant, on the plane, at a party... anywhere. She then proceeds to get his attention by these huge smiles and squealing and coy little looks. And overall, she is just a very happy, very extroverted little girl. She is not crawling, but she is beginning to go from sitting over into somewhat of a crawl position, or turns and begins sort of climbing up on me. So I can sense that mobility is just around the corner... uh oh!! Her fine motor skills are very impressive - Cheerios now disappear in the blink of an eye. She is even more animated, and has lots of sounds. Her current favourite is "Ba-ba-ba", as if she is starting the song "Ba-ba-ba, ba-Barbaran. And Katy really seems to enjoy music and dancing.

Ok, so this was just the intro to a bunch of posts to cover our very full but very fun April. So stay tuned... I'm about to go post & pic crazy!!!