First Thanksgiving

Kate's first Thanksgiving went by rather uneventfully, for her anyway. She slept through the big meal. We did give her tastes of exciting Thanksgiving food like Pumpkin, Sweet Potatos and Mashed Potatos. She is obsessed with food and drink. She will stare down anyone eating or drinking and make this pathetic face, trying to get scraps. Unless she is in close enough range to grab at the food. Then you better watch out!

Kate is an eager reader. Seriously. 5 minutes before this photo was taken, I was holding Kate but she was very upset and crying. I started reading to her and she immediately calmed down. I finished the story and handed her the book, which she eagerly looked at. More pictures in the album.

What Kate is up to at the moment.

Apology

Sorry about the lack of new posts. I've been sick for about a week. I did add some new pictures to her album. Kate's been pretty good about me being sick, other than trying to shove her fingers in my mouth. She's very exploratory with her hands these days! But she has managed to stay healthy, which is great.

Playing

Kate now LOVES to play with her toys. She's getting mobile enough to be able to move towards what she wants on the blanket and grab it, even if its a few feet away. She's facinated by all of them. We love having simple toys for her to play with, no batteries or tinny mechanical songs to listen to over and over. And she loves them too, but she doesn't know any different. :o)

Teeth

Poor Kate. She's been teething for about a month now, and it's getting intense. I can't believe she's going to have to go through this so many times over the next year and a half! Thank goodness for Hyland's Teething Tablets!

Playground and Playgroup

Kate thrives on activity. A few weeks ago, we met a friend and her son at a neighborhood park to hang out. She got the biggest kick out of watching the kids play and had her first ride on the swing. I couldn't believe she was swinging at the playground before she was 4 months old, but she loved it!

Yesterday, we went to a playgroup with a bunch of kids just about 1. She loved watching them toddle about and play. She jabbered and smiled up a storm. We'll definitely enjoy going back in the future.

Aunts and Uncles

Kate has eight aunts and uncles ranging in age from 4 to 18. My siblings (14, 16 and 18) have spent the most time with her, because of proximity. It's hilarious to watch them with her. We were there last week for a quick visit and they developed "cheerleader Kate" routines where one aunt (or uncle) would control her arms and another would control her legs. They called out cheerleading moves and moved her arms and legs in order to achieve them. "Ready? Okay! Arabasque!" And Kate compliantly went along. What a kid!

Photo Updates

A few new pics.

Milestone

Kate turned 4 months old last week and decided the way to celebrate was to start rolling over both ways. Considering how little time she spends on the floor, she really started rolling quickly. She is now little miss dangerous when she's on the floor alone. She can manage to traverse several feet in less than a minute!

Slings and Diapers and Things (Oh My!)

This post is mostly for Tricia and the baby Froyd.

My sling is homemade. You can get really nice rings at slingrings.com and there are tons of great patterns online. It's a very simple project. I used a 97% cotton/3% Lycra bottomweight, which I think is about perfect as far as fabric goes! Total cost was less than $20. We have a Baby Bjorn, which we use and like, but I wish I had gotten an Ergo instead, as they are much more flexible and useful for longer. But I hadn't even heard of the Ergo until recently.

We are just starting to cloth diaper and will hopefully be full-time in the next month. The wonderoo is a pocket diaper, so you can pre-stuff it with inserts, throw it in the diaper bag, and put it on very quickly. We'll use them more when we go out and about. Our main system will be Chinese prefolds (CPFs) and covers (Bummis Super Whisper Wraps and Proraps classics). I'll use a CPF and an Aristocrats wool cover for night. There is a whole cloth diapering subculture. Check out the product reviews at the Diaper Pin for more info. I am going to order from Natural Babies. Not the prettiest web design, but the lowest prices and great ratings on customer service.

With interests in cloth diapering and slings, you ought to join the Gentle Christian Mothers message board. It's got lots of mommas who are really helpful with those sorts of things, as well as breastfeeding, etc. I don't agree with everyone there, but it's great to have a forum in which to ask "dumb" questions.

Yeah!

Kate coos and jabbers all the time. Her favorite thing to "say" sounds like "yeah." It's really fun to ask her questions and get her to answer "yeah."

For example, "Kate, aren't you glad you're a child of the covenant?" "yeah." "Kate, should I make Mushroom Risotto for dinner this week?" "yeah." "Kate, will you take care of me when I am old and not put me in a smelly nursing home?" "yeah."

Cute in Cloth

I bought two new Wonderoos on ebay the other day and they arrived today. I washed them and Kate's already worn them. She is super cute in her pink and lemon yellow diapers! She stayed very dry. The suedecloth is so soft next to her baby bum. I like 'em!

*giggle*

So, Kate wore her cute coat to church the other day (see pictoral evidence in her photos), much to the delight of all. My dear friend Genevieve saw her and burst into "Ohmigosh! She looks so cute in that coat!" A few minutes later she remarked, "The coat is so darling, but she looks like she could sell watches out of that thing."

4 Months Old

Kate is four months old today. She's so much fun to have around. She's laid back and interested in what's going on around her. She's friendly and smiles at strangers. She likes to read books and stares at pages, even when they don't have pictures. She's rolling over (back to tummy) and making raspberry noises. And I just can't imagine life without her!

Social Baby

Kate is a social baby. She's very content to be passed around rooms and smiled at by strangers. She is less hungry and her teeth bother her less when she's out and about. It's amazing how much personality she has as such a small child!