Wednesday, October 31, 2007

some classic pictures

I took these of Nick at Washington & Lee in Lexington. I thought they looked like classic pictures of a little boy with his scooter. The chapel is the Lee Chapel on the campus.



Lexington visit

A week and a half ago, Kathryn and I met my mom and Nick and Ali in Lexington for a few hours of hang out time. Lexington is halfway between Roanoke and Bridgewater, so it's a perfect place to meet. And it's a beautiful place, too, filled with history. (Yes, I am my husband's wife!) Here are a few pictures from our day.

Kathryn loved spending time with her aunt and uncle. She liked it when Nick blew bubbles for her.
A sweet picture!

Nick enjoyed riding his scooter through the campus of Washington and Lee.



Sunday, October 28, 2007

pearly whites...

another UVA game

Here are a few pictures from the last UVA game we went to 2 weeks ago. Kathryn was sporting her hair bow once again, and this time did much better since we brought her stroller for her to nap in as we walked around the stadium.

Daddy's girl!!!
Before the game we enjoyed tailgating at Sal and Virginia's once again. (They are relatives of Johnny's.) The people that live in the house beside them were out riding their horses in the yard, so we took Kathryn out to see them. She loved them, and giggled as she pet them. This picture is of her giving the horse a hug.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

she crawls...

Finally, a video! We've had troubles connecting our video camera to our computer, so it occurred to me the other day that I can take short videos with our digital camera. I had to post this one first, because it is just too cute. I love the way she crawls. It's a classic baby crawl. Hope you enjoy the video!!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Kathryn's stats



Kathryn had a good doctor's visit on Monday. She is a healthy little girl, praise God! Her 9 month stats: head circumference is 17.8 in (83rd percentile); length 27.8 in (58th percentile); and weight 18lbs 14oz (52nd percentile). So, she has slimmed down a bit in her weight and is about average for both weight and height, but continues to have a big head! Hopefully that means she's pretty smart! She's doing well with her crawling, and is now consistently getting herself to all the things she hasn't played with yet, which includes the trashcan, the fireplace screen and tools, and shoes on the floor. She's gonna keep me on my toes, I can tell! She is such a joy for a daughter!

On another note, check out my mom's blog. After a hiatus from blogging, she's back and has some cute pictures and stories to share!

Saturday, October 06, 2007

9 months old!

Kathryn turned 9 months yesterday! I can hardly believe it! She's growing up so fast, and is getting sweeter by the day. She goes to the doctor for her checkup on Monday, so I will post her latest stats then. But for now, here are her day-to-day doings.
The biggest news is that she can now crawl! She started just yesterday! We assume she decided that since she was 9 months old, it was time to get moving. We've been waiting for this day, as she's been so close to crawling for about a month now! She's still really slow and tentative with it, and only does it occasionally when she really wants something (like a piece of paper), but I'm sure as she catches on the next few days, she's really gonna take off.

This picture was taken of her last night around 9:00. It was after her bedtime, of course, but she can't resist when she sees the camera to smile! Prior to her crawling feat yesterday, she had gotten quite proficient at scooting all around the floor. In fact, she often cries if she's being held too much because she wants to be down and moving. This picture is from the other day. She was in the kitchen, and scooted herself until she was laying on her belly under this chair. Then she sat back up, and this was the result. I promise this was not staged at all...we just watched her, and then grabbed the camera to capture the moment. (After she smiled for the camera, she of course started crying because she had no idea how to get herself out of the mess she was in. Even if I walk out of a room for a moment, I often come back in to her fussing to discover she's gotten herself stuck under a chair, bed, or sofa, and can't get out.)
Me with my baby, getting so big now. We had spent the evening with our friends the Minters, and that's why we were out so late for Kathryn. The Minters have a daughter who turned 2 in August, and her and Kathryn love each other so much. They love exchanging hugs and kisses, and did so all night long. It's fun to spend time with them and see a friendship develop between the girls.
Our last picture from last night. She was just being too cute, we couldn't stop taking pictures (our camera was full, though, so we only got a few).
Some of the other things Kathryn's been up to:
-she now waves bye bye all the time, and we think she can say it too (her first word), in that she'll sometimes accompany the waving with "Baaaa baaaaa, Baaaa baaaaa." She never says anything else when waving, although she babbles other stuff all the time at different times. What do you think? Is it her first word?
-she continues to give kisses and hugs all the time, to people (even random people she's never met), to stuffed animals, to babies in books... She is quite loving.
-she cried again last weekend when we were visiting the Lookabills and their new baby, Jude, because he started crying. She looked up at me and started a pitiful little cry. I do think God is growing a compassionate heart in our little girl.
-she has stopped nursing on her own accord. About 3 1/2 weeks ago, she suddenly refused to nurse one day. I had planned on breastfeeding her for 12 months at least, so I called all around to anybody and everybody I could think of for help and advice. After realizing I was trying everything they told me to do, I continued trying for the past 3 1/2 weeks. Finally, yesterday, with much sadness and tears, I conceded to the fact that it looks like Kathryn will not return to nursing, and I finally released it to God. It has been quite the emotional time for me, but I trust God to take care of my little girl and do what's best for her and our family.

In the interest of keeping this from getting too long, and because that's all I can think of off the top of my head, I'll stop here. Thanks for keeping up with our family, especially this little one, and for all the prayers that I know get prayed to God on her behalf. We truly are blessed with such a wonderful family, and wonderful friends and extended family.

18 years from now...

I wonder if we'll have another picture like this 18 years from now, when we're dropping her off....

finally...

Well, after not posting much the past month or so, here are a few recent pictures of the little one.

In a cute outfit, sticking out her tongue! At Aunt Judy's house, petting her little baby goat. While we were in Maryland, Kathryn got really into animals, because my grandma has a dog (a sweet Boxer). So Kathryn of course loved the goat, too, who is only 3 weeks old. In the picture are Grandma, Ali (holding Kathryn), and Willow (holding the goat).
While trying to find picture albums, my Grandma came across this little stuffed tiger that my Pop-pop had put away to give to Kathryn. It was very special for her to have something from him, and she loved it immediately. She fell asleep with it one afternoon, and when I went to check on her, I just had to snap this picture. She put it right on top of her to go to sleep. How cute! :)
Finally, this is Kathryn's second cousin Joey. Since Joey is deaf, he is very concerned that Kathryn learn sign language. He gave me a very helpful note on how to get to a good American Sign Language website. It's called ASL Pro. Thanks, Joey!

Monday, October 01, 2007

Checking in...

I apologize for the lack of posting recently. What was supposed to be the return to "normalcy" in our house (whatever that may be) this month has instead continued to be another month of craziness. The beginning of this month began with a staff retreat with Acts 2, after being in Bridgewater taking care of Nick and Ali the previous two weeks. Then we were home for two weeks, before heading up to Baltimore. Kathryn and I spent the week up in Baltimore because my grandfather, "Pop-pop", passed away, after suffering from a stroke back in June, and many ups and downs. Although it was a sad time, we were able to spend lots of time with my extended family, which was nice. I had so much help and love from the family for Kathryn, and was able to pitch in a little and help out while I was there also. But now we are back and are ready to begin fall and determine what our lives will look like now with Johnny teaching, me working part-time, and all that comes along with that. I hope to load some newer pictures and post them soon. I did want to highlight a blog entry I just read that I found quite poignant, real, and funny. As a new mom going through much of what Elisa talks about, I had to laugh (and amazingly didn't cry, yet) at her honesty and portrayal of what it's like. If you click on this link it will take you to the blog.