Our morning at the park

It has become almost a daily event now, that after mommy goes to workout at the gym, Kateli gets to go play at the park. We go early in the morning, in the hopes that it is not yet too hot out to play. So, this morning as we have for the last week or so, we headed off to the gym and the park. But I was prepared! I had a bag of toys, snacks, food for the squirrels, ducks, and most importantly my CAMERA!!! Kateli played on the slides, the swings, chased a squirrel, a bird, and then spent the rest of the time in the sandbox, filling up and emptying her pail. It was so much fun to watch her. Here are some of the pics that I took. Enjoy!

Updates on Kateli

When I sit down to write updates on Kateli's progress, it is almost overwhelming to try and not leave anything out! She is growing so fast, and doing and saying so many new things each day, that I would really have to do a DAILY update in order to capture and share everything with you--unfortunately, I don't have the time to do daily updates, so I'll try to remember it all!

She is now 18 1/2 months, and so ready to be a BIG sister! I think she finally grasps an inkling of the fact that there is a baby in my tummy--she has been curious of my growing belly since I started to show--but it hasn't been until recently that she actually acknowledges it. Lots of times she will point at my belly (sometimes even raise my shirt) and say "baby" with a big grin on her little face. The sweetness of her voice and the gentleness in her eyes make me melt down each time. She loves to give baby (my belly) kisses--or serberts (spelling?) and gets a kick out of it everytime! I cannot wait to see how she will welcome baby once baby is out my belly--I wonder if she'll understand!?

She is really starting to use her vocabulary, though it seems that somehow most of the words she is picking up are in english. I continue to speak to her in spanish, and tell her the spanish word when she says something in english. Regardless of the language, we are so excited that she starting to communicate better. I feel blessed that her favorite word is not yet "NO", instead she uses her spanish "yes" more often to say what she wants. In fact, she doesn't actually say the word "no", but she nods when she doesn't want something or doesn't want to do something. On the other hand, the "yes" or "chi" is always verbalized! So, let me see if I can remember all of her vocabulary, I would guess she has about 15 to 20 words now and she repeats words well when she's in the mood. So, she says "doggie", "bubble", "hi", "bye", "keith", "mama", "dada", "baby", "head", "eye", "agua or wa-wa", "abu (her word for candy in spanish)", "pan", "aro (which I think is "pajaro" or bird in spanish), and I know I've got to be leaving some out.

Kateli is an on-the go, got to be doing something all the time type of girl!! Her waking hours are full of energy and lots of exploration. Now that it's finally warmer out, and it's not raining so much we do a lot more of outdoors stuff. Kateli plays in the gym play area, while mommy works out in the mornings and usually we go to the park afterwards to let her run around, play on the slides, swings, and chase birds and squirrels. She loves to greet other people at the park or just about anywhere, for that matter, and she finds it distasteful to walk away from people without saying "bye bye". This morning, as usual we were at the park pond watching ducks and squirrels, and there was another mommy there picknicking with her little boy. Kateli walked up to them and said "hi", then she went about her business running around, jumping on my back, watching the ducks and chasing them for while. When we were ready to go, I grabber her little hand and started walking back to the car. She quickly let go of my hand and walked back to the same spot from where she had greeted the mom and baby, just to wave and say "bye" to them--how sweet is that? She has such a happy demeanor about her and such a happy heart. One of her favorite things is MUSIC and DANCING--we have no idea where she gets that from :) (wink wink! must be the latin in her). As soon as she hears music her little dancing feet are going and her hips sway back and forth, her arms go up in the air and she twirls with huge smiles and chuckles! She wakes up in the morning asking for music before she asks for food!! It's so much fun--I know for now it's all fun, but when she's 16 and wanting to go out dancing all the time, we won't think it's so much fun then!! Oh, well I guess it's part of being a parent!

We have to admit though, that recently she has started to show some of those "terrible two's" characteristics that we thought we wouldn't have to deal with--no luck. Kateli is very strong willed--which is not necessarily a bad trait, but in a toddler, I can see the negatives. She is now throwing fits when she doesn't want to be somewhere, or do something or if she doesn't get what she is wanting. It is difficult to keep from laughing sometimes at the things that she does to get her way, but we try really hard so that we are not enabling the bad behavior. She likes to learn lessons the hard way, rather than listening to mommy and daddy's warnings about falling or getting hurt. Just the other morning, she dove off of our bed!!

No VASA PREVIA This time!!

Well, we can take a breath of relief!!! We had our appointment with the high risk OB this morning to check for placenta previa or vasa previa with this pregnancy. After waiting in the waiting area for nearly an hour, we were escorted to the examining room where the dr would see us. Shortly after the nurse left, she came back in to let us know that our dr had to run over to the OR to address an issue and that it would be a little while. So, we waited patiently for her to come back. The dr was very nice and courteous; we'd seen her with the first pregnancy, and it was she who diagnosed me with Vasa Previa and recommended the in hospital bedrest. Needless to say I was a little bit more than anxious to go to this appointment, as I kept fearing that we would walk out of there hearing the same news. However, this time it was different. She did an ultrasound and checked baby first--everything is fine. Then she checked for veins and arteries, where the placenta was attached, the umbilical cord etc etc--and everything is well there too! We were elated to hear her say "I don't see any problems for a VBAC this time...I'm glad I didn't have to send you into shock this time!" so were we!!! So, we got a profile picture of baby, as we did with Kateli about the same gestational age and they look so much alike!! Thank you all for your prayers!! Here are the pics to compare. 1st one is Kateli at 28 weeks gestation, 2nd pic is this baby at 28wks gestation as well.

May Updates

May was a busy month for our family. We’ve done a bit of traveling and have had family visiting from out of town. We were in Houston at the beginning of the month for a baby shower in honor of my sister and I. If I have not mentioned it yet, my sister and I are both pregnant and due within a day of each other!!! “HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?”—God’s doing!! Total coincidence, we were just as surprised as you when we first learned that they were pregnant and due a day before us!! Crazy huh? But exciting at the same time! This is their first baby, so they are in cloud nine as they await the arrival of their little girl—oh, they found out they are having a girl—so we had lots of pink at the shower. As for us, it will be a mystery until the day baby arrives—so for us, we brought home a lot of yellows and greens once again. We had our 20 week ultrasound this month—I can’t remember exactly when—but I’m happy to report that EVERYTHING is well. Thank you all for your prayers for us—they were answered and my nerves were in check the entire time. I was not nervous or scared at all walking into the exam, and we walked out of there with huge smiles on our faces knowing that the baby was growing well, and the placenta had attached in a good place this time—it was not low lying like with our first pregnancy.

We also traveled to Orlando, FL to visit our friends who moved there shortly before we were married. They are expecting their first child as well, due in July!! Lots of babies this year! We took Katherine to Sea World, The Magic Kingdom in Disney World, and we went to the beach one afternoon. Our trip was a lot of fun! Our favorite was Sea World, probably for the simple reason that we went during the week and it was nice and breezy out. Our trip to the Magic Kingdom was on a Saturday and it was super hot, sunny and there seemed to be very little wind that afternoon. We really enjoyed all the shows at seaworld, but our favorites we would have to say were the Dolphin show and the Little Pet show! At the Magic Kingdom, Katherine really enjoyed the tea cup ride and the buzz lightyear ride.

Just this last weekend we had grandma Sue come to visit and that was a whole lot of fun! We had not seen her in almost a year, so we really enjoyed spending quality time with her, and she was amazed to see how grown up Katherine was since the last time she saw us. We also got a great surprise to learn Thursday evening that my sister and her husband would also be here for the weekend. We had a wonderful time with them!! My sister and I got to take pictures together, since this will probably be the last time we see each other before babies arrive. Enjoy some of our latest pictures.

April Updates

We did it!! We signed the contract for the kitchen remodel this month!! And we picked out our cabinets and cabinet color!! I’m so excited to get this project underway and done before this baby arrives. The new kitchen is going to give our home a different feel, it’s going to open up the family room into the kitchen as we are knocking down the wall between these two rooms. We are adding an island at an angle, and some tall dish cabinets that will allow for enough storing space for dishes, glasses and the such. We’re moving a door in order to accommodate the refrigerator in a different place, as well as our new pantry. Our timeline for completion is about 12 weeks out from the date that we signed the contract. Now granted, it was not until almost the last day of the month that we did this, but nonetheless it is DONE!! The cabinets will take 2 weeks to get the color match completed, then we have to approve and the order finally goes out. Once the order is placed we will have to wait about 6 weeks to get the cabinets in, at which time demolition will begin and our kitchen will be out of commission for the next 6 weeks. We’re making progress!!! We’ve got so many other decisions to make—things we never even thought about like the profile of the cabinet doors, the arch on the cabinet doors, down to the grout color for the tile in the new kitchen. We settled on all the decisions about the cabinets this month, so that’s a plus—the rest of the decisions will come a bit later. So we can take a breather right now. We’ve got another busy month ahead so, more updates later!

March Marsh Updates :)

In December we met with a kitchen designer that we really enjoyed talking to and think will be a great person to work with in order to get this job completed. So, we have finally begun to seriously work with this kitchen designer to get the remodel done. We have yet to sign a contract, but we are finalizing the plan and hope to get things going soon. This month we went ahead and purchased our appliances. We bought stainless steel appliances—refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and microwave. We also purchased a new washing machine, a front loader, which I’m sure I’ll enjoy much much more once we get it up on a pedestal—it’s a little too low especially with an expanding belly on the way.

Our little angel continues to grow and surprise us each day. Here are a couple of her newest pics this month.

February Updates

Kateli learns so many new things each day that it’s hard to document each one!! So, I’ve been lazy and not kept up with her journal! I don’t remember what specifically she started doing in January but she is doing so much that it doesn’t really matter when it all started, it’s just amazing to watch her go all the time. She's got the signing down very well—she's picked up the “please” and “all done” excellently, and once in a while finally signs “more”. I haven’t wanted to overwhelm her with teaching her so many different signs, although looking back I think she would have been fine. So we are now working on adding more to our sign vocabulary! I love that she signs “please” when she wants something or when she wants ‘more” of something—you she is such a polite little angel. When we sit down for a meal, she is usually the one to remind me that we need to say grace before we start to eat. She sits in her chair waiting for me to sit down and when I finally do, she clasps her hands together for our little prayer. Thank you for keeping me on my toes!

On Valentine’s day this year she did something that daddy and I were so impressed to see, as we don’t really know where she picked it up from. She and daddy were playing, and at one point Kateli looked at him and winked—it wasn’t an accident either, cuz she did it several times and we could tell in her little gesture that she was winking, it was not just that she had something in her eye. And now, although she doesn't do it everytime that we ask her to “wink” she will most of the time wink back at us.

We just got back from visiting my family in Houston, we were there over president’s day this year. It was such a fun visit! We had so much fun, and grandma and grandpa really enjoyed having us there. We got to visit the Houston Zoo with you for the first time, and boy did they have a blast watching you really enjoy seeing animals and pointing at them. But was most impressed grandma and grandpa was how far you walked and didn’t show any sign of being tired or grouchy!! Grandpa had you walk up a ramp 3 times, and you were still laughing in the end! I think the grownups were all worn out, but you could have continued walking another hour or so! You have really started to “babble” a whole lot more this weekend. You babbled before, but this weekend it was just so different. It was as if you were really trying to talk to all of us, whether we were riding in the car, we were sitting at the dining room table, you were pretending to talk on the phone, and when you actually did talk to your daddy over the phone. It’s fun to watch you monkey!

January '07 Updates

We are PREGNANT, expecting baby #2!! Kateli is going to be a BIG SISTER!!

I was late, so on the morning of New Year's Eve, I took a pregnancy test only to find out it was positive! I wanted to wait until midnight to break the news to hubby, but once I saw that magical second line on the pregnancy test, I could not contain myself and had to wake him up to see it! I have to say that hubby was not surprised, he had been saying "you're pregnant" for about a week or so by this time, I just didn't want to get my hopes up. Once he saw the positive test in front of his face, the first words out of his mouth were "What do you think of the name William?" You think he's hoping for a boy this time!!?? We were so psyched up with the news, and still we decided to wait to tell family. I wanted to see the baby's heartbeat on the first ultrasound, and make sure things looked fine before sharing the excitement. More later...

December updates

Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas you lost interest in walking and resorted back to crawling wherever you went. Daddy and I think it was because you fell one day and hit your face on the corner of the center table in the family room. You were trying to walk carrying a cushion that was twice as big as you and tripped. We think you were mostly scared, because the fall was not that bad…you were not even bruised. So, we just continued to encourage you by holding your hand and walking around the house with you! And then Christmas day came—and all of a sudden you felt brave enough to try the walking again all on your own…you have not stopped since.

This year we spent Christmas at home instead of traveling to be with family. It was a little different, but really good and relaxing. Both Kateli and I were sick around the holidays so we opted to not travel at all. Daddy and I exchanged gift Christmas Eve so that Christmas morning was all about watching you open your packages!! It was so much fun to see you tear the wrapping paper off of each gift and to explore what was inside all of them. The ones that most excited you this year was a baby doll that grandma Sue sent you, and the little tricycle that Daddy and I gave you. It was so impressive to watch you learn how to climb on and off of the little tricycle—you had it mastered before New Years!

New Years we had a fun family reunion in our home. Uncle Dave, Aunt Monica and the cousins came to visit, as well as abuela and abuelo! We had a house full and it was so much fun. There were children running all over the place, and laughter was to be heard at all times! We really just hung around the house, but did get out a couple of times. We went out to eat at Pei Wei’s, we went to the park one afternoon, and we went to watch Charlotte’s Web with the kids (you didn’t go, Kateli, because you are still too little to sit through a long movie). Everyone stayed through New Year’s Eve, but New Year’s day was a sad day to say goodbye to all of our guests. Uncle Dave and family left early in the morning and abuelo y abuela followed shortly thereafter. The house felt so different after everyone had gone, we were sad to be alone again! Hopefully we can have another fun get together sometime soon!

My First Birthday Party (In Houston and at home)

Your first birthday party—ahead of time! Grandma and Tia Marta threw a birthday party for you in Houston. You enjoyed it far more than I ever imagined. You loved eating cake, and you were so careful not to get it on your clothes—which totally amazed me. You loved watching and playing with all the other little kids that were there, and you were so in tune with opening your gifts. You actually pulled paper and gifts out of bags and were interested in the gift more than the boxes—which I was not expecting at all. The only thing is that you are not too big a fan of the piñatas, but that is okay—we’ll warm you up to them and I think once you start enjoying them you’ll wonder why you didn’t like them sooner.



Two weeks later we celebrated your birthday again at home. We threw yet another birthday party and abuela and abuelo were able to be with you. We also had you dedicated at church that weekend. We invited lots of friends with little kids so that they could all come enjoy the celebration! The fun part about your birthday this year is that we got our first snow of the winter, and boy was a snow storm!! On your actual birth day daddy took you out to play in the snow for the first time!! That was fun to watch--you weren't quite sure what to think about it at first, but you got comfortable after a little while.

First baby steps! (Nov 23)

You started walking today!!! You’ve been cruising furniture and walking while holding my hand or daddy’s hand for a few weeks now, but today you did it all on your own. It was so exciting since we were in Houston and everyone got to partake in this milestone. The funnest part is that Tia Marta caught it all on video. You had taken up to 3 steps at home, but we had not been able to have the camera on hand when it happened. While in Houston, you were playing with daddy and tia Marta was videotaping—you took 7 steps towards daddy and have continued to practice your walking everyday since then. This is all going so so fast—in 7 days you will be 1 already!!

August updates

You are certainly a talker!! You keep yourself entertained for minutes playing with toys and grunting at them or babbling at them. You say “da dada dadada” it’s your favorite thing to babble right now. You know your dada that’s for sure. But you call me “dada” most of the time too, which is pretty funny…I know I know, dada is easier to say than “mama”. I have heard you say “ma” a couple of times, but it just doesn’t roll of your tongue as easily. You have started to try and stand up in the middle of the room, without pulling up on anything, which is pretty impressive to watch. You let go when you are pulled up on something and remain standing for a couple of seconds. We are sure that you will be walking in no time. You’ve also gone through some major separation anxieties this month (week), and you want mommy all the time. Makes me feel so special!! At the same time though it is hard to leave you with anyone when I go to the gym, or to church or to bible studies, because I know that you will cry for me—makes me sad to see that, but I know that it’s a phase you will grow out of. Even when we are at home, and it’s just you and me, you get so ansy when you don’t see me in the same room as you. You go searching after me, and have even ended up in the laundry room, thinking “where is my mom, she normally heads in the kitchen direction” I know I’m mean, but I’ve only done this a couple of times—I will step away from the room where you are in playing, and watch from around the corner to see when you realize that I’m gone. It’s amazing to see, you stop what you are doing all of a sudden, and look around—you look like your little wheels are turning trying to figure out where I went—and then a few seconds later you leave what you were doing and head out crawling to find me. And you are so smart. Sometimes I crawl on the floor with you and we play the “ring around the chest” game, where I crawl around the chest and say “bye bye” to you, you normally follow about ¾’s of the way around and then realize, “now wait a minute, if I just go the other way, I’ll run into mom”—and sure enough you do. You turn around and run into me and you give out this great giggle saying “ha ha, I found you mom!!”

Those pearly whites are finally coming in! (Aug 28th)

You are getting your first tooth!! I am so excited. Yesterday you were fussy, which is not like you especially when you have napped, so I wondered what the problem was. I didn’t think you could be sick again since you just got over a viral infection, but I guess all is possible. Anyway, this morning after we left the gym I realized that you are cutting your first tooth. When I picked you up from the nursery after the workout, one of the ladies had you because you were crying. She said that you had not been happy for a while and I wondered what could be wrong. You normally enjoy being among other kiddos for at least an hour before getting ansy for me to pick you up. I always give you a toy to distract you a bit, while I strap you into your seat, and this time something was different. As you were gnawing on the little green frog teether, I noticed little tiny whitish/red slits on your bottom gum—immediately I understood why you have been fussy lately. My poor baby is feeling the discomfort that comes along with cutting teeth!! You are two days shy of 9 months and are already getting those first pearly whites. I called your daddy and you auntie to share the wonderful news!

A little ill during 9month checkup (Aug 21)

Well we went to see the doctor this morning because you had been running a fever all of yesterday and into today. Nurse got us in, and the doctor was also able to do you 9 month well child checkup—no shots necessary for this checkup. Turns out that you have a viral sore throat, which the doctor said is a common seasonal illness they are seeing right now. You should be over it in a few days. There is no medication, since antibiotics do not work against viral infections. As far as the 9 month check up, you are now weighing 16lbs 10oz, and measuring 27”. Doctor said you are doing great, you are in the 25% for weight, height, and head measurement, which means you are perfectly proportioned! Our next appointment is not until you turn 1!

We are going to Mexico! *(Aug 16)*

It’s official, we are going to Mexico on vacation at the end of next month. Your passport came in the mail this afternoon!! You and I are ready to go…daddy?? Well, we are still waiting on his passport renewal. I wish they would have sent back the second picture that we mailed in for the passport, because it was such a cute one! You did wonderful when we took you to kinko’s to get your passport pics made. I love you!

"more" mommy, "more" (Aug 14)

You have learned to ask for more!! J Well, okay…I’m not sure if you are really intentionally asking for “more” or if you are just clapping your hands together! Either way, it’s a milestone, and I’m so very proud of you. I’ve been teaching you the sign for “more” every time we sit down to eat since about 6 months, if not earlier, and you are starting to respond. You are not quite yet 9 months…you are such a smart little baby girl!

I can put food in my mouth! (July 27)

You have learned how to feed yourself the little star shaped snacks that I put on your tray while I feed you. Up until now all you did with those was look at them, switch them back and forth between hands, and eventually drop them all on the floor. I’m so proud of you, your tiny little hands and fingers look so cute when you grab a hold of a star and pull it to your mouth, start sucking on your fingers and the star, and then finally release the snack. Once you got it in your mouth you gnawed it and gave me a huge smile!

A Little Immersion (July 19)

You got immersed today at swim lessons and you didn’t complain!! I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous about it. I thought you may not like it and you might cry, but I was totally wrong. Daddy came to the lesson this morning to video during your class. Because it was the first time for the babies to be immersed in water, the instructor did them. As I handed you over to her, I thought “my baby, under water?” She took you, said “one, two, ready go” and put you under for a count of three. You came up, big eyed, with water running down your face and as she handed you back to me you gave me this huge grin that said “it wasn’t too bad mom!” I love watching you experience new things.

Abuelita's visit in July!

Abuelita left to go home this morning and we are going to miss her. She came to visit and to spend time with you this weekend. We had a great time! Grandma loves to shop so we went to the mall twice during her stay, and Kateli you did great. Mommy was so proud of you; you were patient and a good sport. Mommy and daddy got some time to spend together alone, while grandma watched you in the evenings. We got to go out to the Melting Pot for a nice 2^nd year anniversary dinner on Saturday night. Sunday night we went to small group and you stayed with grandma. Yesterday grandma went with us to swim lessons and watched how much fun you have and how much you enjoy the water. She liked watching you smile and giggle in the water!

Drinking from a straw (July 16th)

You have learned how to drink from a straw! I haven’t wanted to use the sippy cup too much because I don’t want you to become dependent on it. So we have worked on drinking from a regular cup and today I thought we should try drinking from a straw. You do fine drinking from a cup, but it’s so much cuter to watch you purse your lips around the straw and sip the water. The first time that I put a straw in your mouth, you weren’t too sure about it and gnawed on it as if it were a chewing toy. After a few seconds you shut your lips around the straw, but I don’t think you sucked up the first time. Finally, I felt the cold water come up on the straw and saw your eyes light up when you got some in your mouth. And so you learned!

First day of swim class (July 10th)

Today you started your swimming lessons and it was so much fun. I loved watching you and seeing the excitement in your face from being in the water. You are a great little swimmer, it seems to come natural and you love the water. You spent most of the time in the pool splashing water on mommy’s face and onto the other babies in the class.

Fourth of July weekend

Aunt Marta and uncle Misael have been here this weekend visiting. They arrived, by surprise on Saturday morning. Aunt Marta called mommy in the morning, about 6:30am, and said “The sun rises different in your neck of the woods” Mommy about jumped out of bed!! Aunt Marta and Uncle Misael were 3 hours away from the house when they called. It was a wonderful surprise. Saturday we hung around the house, to try to give Marta and Misael some time to relax after driving all night. We also had a visit from another friend and her family; who are in from Argentina. Sunday we went to the zoo! While it was really hot out, we had a lot of fun! We got to see the polar bear, the lion, the flamingos, the fish, the monkeys, elephants, giraffes, and the sea lions. And for the first time today you seemed to enjoy eating sweet potatoes. In the evening we went with Aunt Marta and Uncle Misael to Emily’s house for our small group potluck. We had a fun social and were asked to bring a dish, something red, white or blue. So, I made a tres leches cake and decorated it like the flag of the US.

No more army crawling for you (june 29th)

You are 1 day shy of 7 months and you’ve begun crawling on all fours!! You’ve been scooting on the floor to wherever you want, but you have been doing the army crawl until today. You had some friends over today, Adreana and Benjamin! Benjamin is just 3 months older than you and getting around everywhere. I think you picked up the crawling by seeing it. You took about 3 “steps” this afternoon, and I tried really hard to get it on video!

Pulling up! (June 28th)

Wow!! You are growing way too fast. I put you down for a nap this afternoon, and you cried for about 3 mins before it all got silent. I went in to check and make sure you had fallen asleep….NOPE, instead I found you standing up holding on to the rails of the crib!! WHOA! We need to go down some more with the mattress. Slow down my little one!

We got our first Pool (june 24)

You got a pool today!! Daddy and mommy went to target and bought you your very first pool. It’s an 8’x30” above ground pool. Daddy says it’s a start! Who knows, maybe someday we can graduate to a bigger one, or even an inground pool. We’ll have to see. Now you and mommy can practice swimming in our own backyard. You start swim lessons in a couple of weeks and we are so excited because you seem to love the water. Your little feet start kicking like a pro as soon as you hit the water!

Sitting Pretty all by yourself! (June 21)

You sat up all on your own today for the very first time!! It has been a while since I started putting you down to play in a sitting position and you have mastered staying sitting for long periods at a time, but you had not sat up by yourself. I came into your room this morning to get you after your first nap, and I came to find you sitting up in the crib. You sat up, and you sat on mr bunny’s head! J I was so excited!! I picked you up, gave you the usual big hug and kiss after your naps, and said “you sat up all by yourself today! I’m so proud of you”

Up on all 4s!! (June 7)

You are so close to crawling!! It is so exciting, nerve racking and scary all at the same time!! Actually, last Thursday was the first time that I’ve seen you get up on all fours!! We were at Rachel’s house for small group, and shortly after we arrived I put down your quilt and put your toys on the ground so you could play. I put you on your tummy and then next thing I knew you were up on your hands and knees—it was only for a few seconds, but it was fun to see. You had not done that again, until today!!

I put you on the floor to play with your toys, as I do everyday when I need to get things done and so that you get your tummy time. I turned my back for a minute or two because I was going to put together your pak and play in the family room so I could lay you in there for a nap. When I turned around to look at you, you were up on all fours!! I dropped what I was doing, grabbed the video camera and hoped that you would do it again so that I could get it on tape for daddy to see when he got home from work tonight! Sure enough, you did again and again and again!! It was SO much fun to watch you. I ran around the house looking for my camera and the camera bag because I also wanted to get pictures of you, and I called daddy to share the exciting news.

Daddy and I need to get serious about picking out new carpet for the house, because you are going to start crawling any day now!

6 Month Checkup (end May)

You are 6 months old and you got your first taste of solids today!! Where has the time gone?? It is so hard to believe that you are no longer the 6lbs baby that we brought home from the hospital on Dec 14! I remember the day you were born, like it was yesterday and yet, it’s NOT. You were so tiny when you were born—you weighed 5 lbs 5ozs and measured 18 inches. I remember the first time I gazed into your beautiful little eyes—it was the night you were born. Daddy and the nurse put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me over to the NICU so that I could see you how beautiful you are up close. I was in awe and overwhelmed by the joy of really seeing you, and touching you tiny little fingers and toes! When I spoke to you, it was as if you recognized my voice because you opened your eyes and look at me. Daddy said that was the first time he had seen you open your eyes, and it brought tears to my eyes—not because I was sad, but because I was so happy! That was six months ago!! Today, I look at you and I can’t believe how much you have changed. You are my beautiful baby girl, with more energy, bigger smiles, the cutest giggle and the most impressive curiosity. We went for your six month check up this morning, and the doctor said that were doing great. You have almost tripled your birth weight at 15lbs, and are now measuring more than a third of my height—24.5inches!! It was so hard to see you get your immunizations this time—you cried inconsolably for about 10mins after the nurse poked your little legs—it was the most pitiful cry, and I wished that I could kiss it all away—so I tried. After the doctor’s appointment we went and had lunch with daddy, and you did well throughout the outing. When we got home, I gave you some Tylenol to prevent you from getting sick after the shots, but it didn’t work as well as the last two times you were poked on your legs. You didn’t feel real well and you slept most of the afternoon. When you woke up the first time, you were fussy and your little head felt warm—you quickly fell asleep and slept off the temperature. When you woke up the second time you were back to being my happy little baby girl—you woke up smiling and ready to play.

Swimming is my thing! (May 28th)

Today you swam in a pool for the very first time!!! Lois, our neighbor from down the street invited us to her neighborhood Memorial Day Pool party this year, and we couldn’t turn down the oppty to take you to the pool for the first time! It was so much fun to get you ready for your swim. Your bathing suit is the cutest!! It is a one-piece, hot pink suit with little ladybugs on the front—and it came in a set with a matching robe, for after your swim!! Daddy and I were so excited to see you all dressed up and took pictures and video. When we got there, your eyes lit up and you were all smiles with everyone and anyone that looked your way!! You are such a happy baby, and so social. I got you lathered up in sunscreen—we wanted to make sure that you pretty little baby skin would not get burned—and then daddy took you into the water. You were so happy to be in the pool. You kicked like a pro!! Daddy only had you in the water for a few minutes, but you enjoyed it so much! After your swim, mommy and daddy had burgers and hotdogs, before you zonked out!! The swim wore you out and you fell asleep so peacefully.

A blissful night of rest! (May 24)

Today you slept through the night--a total of about 12 hours!! Daddy and I have been putting you to bed at 7pm for about 2months now and it's working out great. You are getting plenty of sleep through the night, and we have some adult time with your daddy! Until tonight though you had been waking up at about 2:30am to nurse every night, and then slept through to 7am. Last night we put you down at 7pm, and you slept through until 6:45am!!! I was up at 2:30, at 3:45, and at 5:00 wondering if you were okay!! Finally at 5:00 am I got up and went to check on you. You were fine and sleeping on your tummy--you looked so peaceful!

Mommy's birthday

You were a big part of mommy's birthday celebration this year!! Our small group meeting was cancelled so daddy was just going to take us out to eat. Turns our he had planned a little surprise dinner party with a few friends that were in town. We had a great time!! We ate a yummy dinner, and had an awesome sweet cake for dessert--even the waitress got to partake in the celebration.

I can pacify myself, and soon I'll be on the go (May 23)

Today you were able to put your paci in your mouth the correct way. You’ve been trying to do it for weeks now, but you would stick either the back side or the side of the pacifier in your mouth and suck on it. I saw you place it in your mouth correctly for the first time today.


Another thing that you started doing today is lifting your bottom up in the air when you are doing tummy time, as if to push off and move forward. I’ve only seen you lift your bottom up and get in that position, but I’m sure the crawling will come VERY soon. Daddy and I are going to need to get new carpet sooner than we thought!! You are growing so fast!

Watch out, I'm rolling over (May 19, 2006)

Today you rolled over from back to belly all on your own!! What an accomplishment, what a milestone!! You are growing so fast, and it’s so much fun to see it happen before my very eyes. I put you down for your afternoon nap in the pak and play, with your paci and a pink blanket. I walked away so as not to distract you and you stayed without complaining. I sat on the couch right on the other side of the pak and play where you couldn’t see me, but I could peek over to you. I looked over five mins after I laid you down and you were on your belly. I laid you down on your back!! I was so excited!! I went and got the video camera, but you would not do it for the camera!! Needless to say you DID not take a nap!

Plus it's become clear that you are a belly sleeper like your mommy. Tonight you rolled onto your belly to go to sleep. Daddy and I always put you down on your back at bedtime, and when daddy came to get you both in the middle of the night and early in the morning, he said that you were on your belly!! I knew that you would be a belly sleeper, you would position yourself in a weird side position when I would lay you down from the beginning. And when grandma and grandpa were here in February, grandma laid you down on your tummy for naptimes. You slept most comfortably on your tummy—when we rolled you over on your back you would immediately wake up. So, now that you can turn yourself on your tummy, you’ve got that freedom during night night time!!

First Set of Sunglasses

Today you got your first pair of sunglasses. After going to bank, we went shopping at the mall. Mrs Nunez sent a check for you, so I went to see what cute things I could buy for you. We walked around the mall, and saw so many cute things, but a little too pricey. Before leaving we went by Gymboree to see their sales, and ran into the cutest girl sunglasses. Before anything else, I had to make sure that they would, in addition to looking very cute, protect your beautiful eyes from harmful sun rays. They were labeled to be 100% UVA so we had a go to search for the “right ones”. I must have put on you about 12 different pairs before picking out the ones we would take. I was so impressed that you didn’t pull them off your face; instead you smiled and looked so content. On the way home, I put the sunglasses on you and you left them on the entire ride home. You fell asleep in the car, but woke up with sunglasses and a huge smile on your face. When you saw daddy, you smiled so big and got excited almost saying in your own way, “look daddy, look what I got today!!”


I’m so looking forward to going for our morning walks; the sunglasses will come in handy since it’s so sunny in the mornings. Your beautiful blue eyes need to be protected and now we’ve got the cutest sunglasses for that purpose

First major boo-boo!

Today you got your first major boo-boo. I was really afraid you were going to end up with a black eye, and I felt so horrible. Yesterday you started to stay in a sitting position when I put you down—of course you lasted no more than a minute, but you were still sitting. Miss Helen, from the school district came to visit us today and I was so excited to share with her that you were sitting!! She said you were doing great. She said normally babies start to sit up at about 8-9months, and here you are 5 ½ months and staying sitting without any support. So, I sat you up on your quilt and put a couple of toys in front of you. You sat for a little bit, before reaching over for a toy that was a wee bit too far in front of you, and you toppled over on your face and into Miss Helen’s shoe—she and I were sitting Indian style around you. You were so shaken up by the fall, and so was I. I grabbed you, held you close and tried to comfort you. I gave you your paci to try to get you to settle down so I could see where you had hurt yourself. I thought you had only hit your forehead, so I rubbed it and kissed it to make it feel better. After Miss Helen left, and you woke up from your nap I went to get you and changed you; when I realized that you were red all around the right eye. Oh, I felt so horrible. I put an ice pak on it hoping that it would prevent it from turning blue, and called your daddy. Daddy said, “she’ll be okay. Take a picture and send it to me, this is her first boo boo” Turns out you didn’t get a black eye, the ice must have helped!

Stay Home Mommy--the BIG decision

Growing up, I always thought that I would be a working mom--that's what my mom did and I thought I would follow in the same footsteps. I grew up hearing from my parents that I needed to go to school and make something of myself so that I could take care of myself and not have to depend on anyone, so I studied engineering. After 4 years of engineering school, I was still convinced that I would continue to work once I had kids, but God had other desires that he planted in my heart as I really began thinking about motherhood. As you may know, from my previous posts, I was in the hospital 7 weeks 1 day prior to Kateli's birth. Add to that another 8 weeks for maternity leave, and you end up with 15 weeks out of work--I couldn't imagine going back--it was such a remote idea to me by now. On top of that, I had this beautiful little girl that I was going to have to leave home day after day if I decided to go back full time--it was a tough call. I was very strongly against putting her in childcare. I wanted to be part of my child's life as she grew up. I admire moms that can juggle both a full time job in the workforce and the full time job at home with the kids--I couldn't do it. In the end, hubby and I decided that we could handle me staying home with our baby, rather than working and paying for childcare. So, grandma and grandpa came to stay with Kateli for the 2 weeks that I went back. I put in my resignation and said goodbye to what had been my identity for the last 5 1/2 years. I had a new identity now, "Kateli's mommy" and I loved that! My last day at work was very hard and emotional--I enjoyed so much working with everyone, and I knew I was going to miss the camaraderie! I still go back every once in a while to say hi!

APNEA Monitor be gone!

Today was a big day!! We have happily parted with the apnea monitor. We are so glad that the doctor has deemed it no longer necessary. No more worries about annoying false alarms going off in the middle of the night. No more chest belt and no more having to carry a monitor alongside baby everywhere we go. I was so relieved to hear that the monitor was going to be picked up this afternoon that I immediately went to grab the camera and take the last pictures of baby with monitor just for the memory.

Monitor still on...

Monitor be gone!

First Christmas/New Years '05

From the day that we found out we were expecting, daddy had been hoping the baby would arrive before Christmas--even though our due date was not after the New Year! He got his wish!! We were celebrating this christmas with our little girl. Grandma and Grandpa Salazar came to visit, making the holidays even more special. They came filled with the excitement of sharing Christmas with their first born grand-child. Katherine was only a little under a month old, but we had lots of fun taking pictures of her under the christmas tree, with mom and dad, and with mommy. Grandma and grandpa had come bearing lots of gifts for baby, but we didn't open those until two days later. Seemed that our focus this Christmas was more on the joy and blessing that we felt to have our beautiful little girl, healthy and at home with us. We even got to bed early that night--of course mommy and daddy were up with Kateli every 2 hours for feeding--as it had been the rest of the time since she had come home!




New Year's was another fun holiday this year! This time though, as it is tradition in my family, we stayed up until midnight to welcome the new year with a big hug! Right after that, we hit the sack! These are pictures taken on New Year's Eve!

Grandma Sue comes to visit

Grandma Sue arrived in town on the 13th, just a day before Kateli was released for the hospital. We were so excited to have her here with us, and joyous that she was able to come meet little Katherine. We had no idea that Katherine would be released while she was here, so our thought was that grandma and I would be travelling to the hospital daily to go spend time with baby. Since I had had a C-section and was advised not to drive for at least 2 weeks post partum, Grandma was going to be the lucky driver of our 5 speed vehicle. According to daddy, she had not driven a stick shift in years. Grandma was such a good sport about it, and she got to practice a little bit on the drive home from the airport with daddy. They finally arrived at the hospital and grandma Sue got to meet little Katherine.


Grandma was here for about 10 days and it was so wonderful having her here with us during that time. Grandma did everything from go out to get fresh bread almost daily to washing baby's clothes, to cleaning the entire house. She also got to spend quality time with Katherine, rocking her, feeding her bottles, cradling her as she napped, and talking and singing to her when she was awake. We were all sad to see her go.