Moving onwards & upwards...

Now that Katy is 1, she has apparently decided it's time to get moving. Only 2 wks ago, she finally started to push herself up to sitting from laying on her tummy. That skill is now mastered, so her attention has turned to standing. Here & there Katy was starting to get to her feet if she had a low object to help pull herself up on, but this morning she really got it! I put her in her playpen (which we haven't used before now for playing in), and before I knew it, Katy had grabbed a hold of the top rail and pulled herself up to standing! As you can see, she was quite pleased with herself. She must have went on to repeat the maneuver over 10 times... stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down... Just a little while later, I put her down for a morning nap. When I heard playing rather than a sleeping girl, I peeked in... just in time to see Katy getting up to her feet in her crib! We already just lowered the crib mid-way since she started sitting & kneeling, but when Daddy gets home tonight, it'll now have to be lowered all the way before Katy gets it in her head that she can climb right out!

In additional news, Saturday we noticed that Katy's top left tooth is on it's way in. She has been stuck with just the two bottom teeth for 3 mnths now, so I guess it's about time! (See mom... I told you they'd come sooner or later!) Not that she even needs the teeth when it comes to eating! Katy does not let the lack of teeth hinder her... in fact, on Saturday morning, Katy has the exact same breakfast as her Mommy & Daddy! Two multi-grain pancakes with peanut butter and a touch of syrup, plus lots of blueberries, which was the same amount we each had, but we didn't get any blueberries. Our girl can eat!!

Tomorrow we are off to Moose Jaw, SK for a week with my family. We will celebrate Katy's birthday while we are there, along with her cousin Jackson's (who turns 4 on Sept 9th). And even though the birthdays for the little ones by far get all the attention these days, we may even squeeze in a birthday dinner for me, as I turn 31 on Sept 3rd, the day before we head back home to San Jose. I've been waiting on retrieving pictures from my sister Lauren to post some great ones of Katy & Jackson together while they were here visiting in early August, so hopefully that will finally happen once we get there. Looking forward to seeing the Perryman clan & friends this week!

The birthday cake!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I would have to agree, especially in this case. As you'll see, Katy poked at her 1st ever piece of cake until I picked up a bit and touched it to her lips. After getting that first tiny taste, there was no holding her back! Wasting no time, Katy dug right in & managed to eat almost the entire piece!

Katy's Birthday Party

Here are just a few of the pictures taken on Katy's birthday. I will post a full album up on my Facebook page, hopefully a little later today. If you don't use Facebook and would like to see more, just let me know and I can send you the album by email to view online at Snapfish. The birthday's girl first experience of cake will be in the next post... very soon to follow!

Thanks to all of our friends who came & shared Katy's first birthday with us... you helped make it a truly memorable day! And thanks for all the best wishes from all the many friends & family who couldn't be there in person. For all you fellow-Canadians, we'll be bringing Katy back to Moose Jaw this coming Tuesday, Aug. 28th, for a week, so we hope to see you while we're there!

Katy with her Nana Tittle, who was with us for the week leading up to Katy's birthday. She was also one of our two great photographers of the day (along with our friend Baker). Thanks for all your help!

Katy & Henry, getting into the bubbles we brought for all the kids.
Enjoying the perfect day and yummy food (made by Daddy) with friends from Las Madres

People gather to sing to Katy and enjoy a piece of birthday cake
Katy's shocked expression as everyone breaks into singing "Happy Birthday!"
Katy & Tyler (who is 5 days older than Katy)... we met Tyler's parents in our Bradley birthing class. And here they are one year later, no longer just a foot in their mommy's sore ribs!
For once we remembered to get a picture of the 3 of us!
Katy takes the time to thoughtfully read a card before moving on to the giftKaty definitely enjoys the unwrapping process (she opened some of the many gifts that night at home just before bedtime)
The best gift of all... from the ones who know her best (aka Mommy & Daddy)... a cell phone!!

The big ONE!!

Ok, I know you have all been waiting for this update, the big ONE... Katy is 1yr old!! She officially turned 1 at 10:30pm PST this past Saturday, August 18th. We held her party that afternoon, which was well-attended by friends from our small group at our church and from Las Madres, the mom's club Katy and I joined about 6mnths ago. We had about 20 adults & 10 kids at a beautiful nearby park that is just a few blocks over and down from our house. Benji marinated & grilled chicken, and the menu included his homemade garlic hummus, chips, salsa, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, and buns & fixings for the chicken... and most importantly, birthday cake! (I will do a separate post for Katy's first experience of eating cake... it was just too cute!) We had a really good time with everybody, and Katy was thrilled to have so many of her friends there. With everybody arriving and leaving at various times, which happens when you have a bunch of almost 1 & 1 yr olds on different nap schedules!, we didn't open gifts there. The party started at noon, and by 3pm, a happy but exhausted Katy was putting her head down on my shoulder and very close to falling asleep. So I took her home so she could nap before her photoshoot at JCPenneys at 6pm. After getting her 1yr old photos taken there, we returned home and let her open a few of her presents, which she gets very excited about, as you can see in this photo!

So today (Wednesday), I took Katy in for her 1yr old checkup. Her stats... Katy has jumped up from being barely 5th percentile in weight to a solid 10th percentile, at 18lbs 3oz. She is very tall for her petite frame, at 29 1/2", which is almost 60th percentile. She is the picture of health. (She evidently has a strong immune system, as she has not come down with the stomach flu her mommy had on Sunday, which is to blame for my delay in blogging about her birthday!) Katy's pediatrician was very impressed with her fine motor skills and her talking. I pulled out Katy's cellphone which I bought her for her birthday (as she is obsessed with phones), and as she took it Katy spun herself around on the exam table so she was sitting with her back to her doctor and I, as she put the phone up to her ear and started a conversation. This made the doctor laugh, saying, "Oh, do you need some privacy while you talk?"

In addition to Katy beginning to crawl a week ago, about 10 days ago we discovered that she can finally sit herself up. Now more often than not, when we hear her awake in her room, we'll walk in and find her sitting playing with her stuffed animals, or kneeling looking over the crib at the door waiting for us. About the same time, Katy added a new word to her growing repertoire, "Hi!" It's especially cute when she answers her phone. And while just a month ago every question was answered with "Yah!", now I'm beginning to sometimes hear "Nonononono!" Katy loves all fruit, any kind of bread, frenchfries, chicken nuggets, quesadillas, & icecream. Since she has not been readily eating her veggies of late, our recent concoction is throwing carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, etc, along with 1/2 an apple, into a blender with some water & ice. We give her this in her cup at dinner, and she always downs it, and seems to really like it. Also just tried peanut butter this week, and that has appeared to be a hit! While she has become more opinionated about what she wants to eat, Katy still has a great appetite... she easily out-ate her almost 4yr old cousin Jackson during his week visit with us.

So there you have it - Katy at one year old. I just have to post this comparison picture, from exactly one year ago, of Katy during her first few days at home. What happened to that tiny newborn all snuggled up with Mommy??? It has been an incredible, amazing year of firsts for all 3 of us. I have absolutely loved being Katy's mom, and while it's with some nostalgia that I say goodbye to this precious newborn that is all grown up, I'm so looking forward to all this next year will hold. Thanks to all of you for sharing her 1st year with us! And don't worry... there are many more photos to come from Katy's birthday.

Drumroll please...

... KATY CRAWLED!! That's right, all you doubters (Lauren), she finally did it. Not that she's ready to do a crawl-athon quite yet, but she did do it! Tonight, we were at our small group, with 6 other couples from our church. Katy decided she needed to be the center of attention while we were gathered in the living room talking. She saw a kleenex box that she was determined to start pulling tissues from one by one. So people would put the box just out of reach, and as she went onto her knees from sitting to reach for it, they would move it just a little further. And before all of our eyes, Katy actually crawled a few paces! She repeated this several times in her determination to get that kleenex box. So Katy put on quite the show for us all! Now we'll have to see if she can reproduce it even on our slippery hardwood floors at home. So here's the moment captured on camera...

Good Sam Summer '06 1st Birthday Party

So these pictures are a preview of what is to come this Saturday. The hospital where Katy was born offers a mom & baby support group once a week. Once the babies are about 6mnths, you move out to make room for new moms, but each quarter forms a yahoo group to stay connected. So, on July 29th, we went to a park in Los Gatos to celebrate the Good Sam Summer '06 babies who are now all turning 1! It is hard to believe how much all our tiny newborns have grown up in just a year. We enjoyed a fun afternoon with other families, and of course our little social girl was as happy as can be to see all the other babies. Only 4 days until the real deal!!

Katy's 1st Haircut

My neighbor, Melissa, is my hairdresser. While she does work in a salon, she also has a chair & supplies at home, so she started doing my hair there for me since Katy's birth. It works out great, since I can just bring Katy next door with me. So two weeks ago it was time for a haircut and highlights touch up for me. Katy's bangs were starting to get into her eyes, so while my hair was in foils, Melissa gave Katy a trim. We waited until Daddy got home from work so we could capture the moment, and so Benji could catch the tiny fine hairs to keep for posterity.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

... who's the prettiest baby of all??

"I've gotta give that cute baby a kiss!"

















When we say "I love you!" or ask her, "Do you love Daddy?"etc, Katy will cross her arms as she does here, signing "love."




"That baby has a cool camera case just like mine!"

Cute & funny moments in the recent life of Katy...

I know, I know... it's been a while since I have updated on here. I apologize, but as I forewarned you all, Katy's last month of being 0 was going to be a crazy one! It was made even busier for me by suddenly picking up some vacation relief work for another doctor, so the little free time I thought I would have before all the visiting with family this month suddenly disappeared. I now have much to post here from events over the past few weeks. My sister Lauren and my nephew Jackson just left yesterday after visiting with us for a week (the cousins had a wonderful time together and I really enjoyed time with my sister). Now we are in the midst of visiting with Benji's parents and his sister Lisa, but I managed to grab some time to begin catching up here while they help him with yardwork and Katy naps. So... let's begin the process with some random but very cute pictures of Katy! And keep checking back, as I will do my best to get all of our recent adventures up here!


Couldn't resist snapping this photo of Katy napping...
Taken in early July, when Katy could only back up but not skooch forward on her tummy.

Katy's friend Alyssa (photo taken in late June) is one of her few friends who can give Katy some of her own! They are very alike, both extremely extroverted, so they are very cute together. Katy promptly tried to pull Alyssa's hat off next.
Katy was overjoyed when a plate of her favourite snack (Apple Wagonwheels) was placed by her at a friend's house, and quickly stuffed one in her mouth while hanging on to one in each hand! They are quite large, but gradually dissolve, so she just kept it like this in her mouth until is became mushy enough to swallow.
Katy has become quite particular about what she'll eat, but when she likes something, there is no stopping her! And no, this is not Katy's bday party (that will be this coming Saturday!!), but it was a party for some of the summer '06 babies we've met who were all born at Good Sam.